II - Growing Old With You: It's Never Too Late to Start
by Katzmind
Summary: The story takes place after the events in Growing Old With You. After witnessing the confession of Yui and Nodoka to each other, Ritsu gets a little envious and starts wanting a love of her own. Will she ever find it?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own K-ON**

 **Another "Growing old with you" story this time it's Ritsu's story. A fanfic before I make the sequel to Yui and Nodoka's story. Anyway here it is chapter 1. I hope you enjoy :)**

 **Note: Aside from the popular characters in this show, I will use three new characters from class 3-2 that's never or rarely been used before; Mika, Akane and Eri.** **Refer to Season2-Episode18, Season2-Episode25 and the movie (15:30) to know who they are.  
**

* * *

It's Friday afternoon, the day before summer vacation – Ritsu just witnessed two of her friends kiss and confess their feelings for each other. It's a never before seen real life incident; _almost like a scene from a manga_ she thought. And that heart stopping experience in _just_ waiting if whether Yui would be able to catch Nodoka in time or not was so memorable; _everything was so perfect – yeah, it was planned by a crazy genius but that kiss, their confession and their love for each other; they were all real._ Ritsu listened to her classmates cheer and shout for joy for Yui and Nodoka, _I'm glad they feel the same way as I do._

It's an unforgettable day for Ritsu and for everyone else who saw the ultimate confession of the century. It was _indeed_ an amazing day and it made her a bit envious; deep down she wondered if she too would be able to find love. _Having someone to love and being loved must be nice…_

"Come on! Let's hang-out and have our own celebration for Yui and Nodoka!" Ritsu invited feeling too happy and not ready to go home yet.

"Ah…sorry Ricchan my parents won't be home tonight so I have to _entertain_ the _guest_ (s) that will be arriving later," Mugi said.

"I can't come either," said Mio feeling a bit uneasy. "I…uh…I promised mama that I'll help her with chores tonight."

"Eh?! Then how about you two?" Ritsu asked shifting her attention to Ui and Azusa.

"Sorry I can't Ritsu-san I have to go home and make dinner," Ui said with a smile.

"And my parents wants me home early today," Azusa added.

"Ehhh~ you guys are so boring," Ritsu expressed her disappointment.

After seeing that there's nothing she can do, Ritsu just let her friends go in the end. _Celebrating alone is just plain weird and miserable and boring,_ she thought while walking around stopping by from one shop to another. After half an hour, Ritsu decided it's time to head home before she noticed that her drumsticks weren't in her bag. _Where is it?!_ She panicked a bit while thoroughly searching her bag. Then she remembered that she left them under her desk at school; she immediately turned around and makes her way back to school. _Good thing the sports clubs always stays late_.

 _Phew! Got it!_ Ritsu let out a deep breath after retrieving her drumsticks. She still didn't feel like going home so she chose to roam around for a while. _I wish Mio was here; it'd be fun especially with in this creepy atmosphere,_ Ritsu thought as she walked through the empty wooden halls of the school. She stopped when Yui suddenly came to mind; she imagined how fast Yui must've ran all over the school just to find Nodoka – _she's not the type to have that much stamina…and yet she was able to do what was originally impossible for her._ _Is that what you call the power of love?_ And once again Ritsu wondered, _how does it feel to love and be loved?_

The sound of balls bouncing interrupted her thoughts and the energetic shouts of the sports clubs' members. _Hm? I didn't realize I was already near the gym_. _Might as well check out how good our athletes are,_ she thought since she was already in the area anyway. Fortunately the door was open so she freely watched the activities in the gym. _The volleyball club's the only one here_ , Ritsu noticed as she took a quick look around. Minutes passed and Ritsu found herself entranced by how intense the players were playing. _Man! They're really taking practice very seriously_ , she thought after seeing their coach yell at them every time they make a mistake. _Makes me feel a little embarrassed about our laxity. But…it's really amazing how they could jump that high and do a spike, how the other team could catch that fast moving ball and be able to return it to the other side. Really amazing, now I can understand why Mio really likes to watch spo –_

 ** _"WATCH OUT!"_**

 **In the Infirmary**

"…well… - eeds…rest…

 _ugh…_

"…thank… -u sens…

 _ugh…my head.._

"…sorry…but I…

 _huh?...someone's talking…_

"…don't wor - …

"Oh my, you're awake already? How are you feeling?" someone asked but Ritsu didn't answer. She was staring at a ceiling and took a minute to realize she's in the infirmary. Her whole head was throbbing especially her forehead. She put a hand on the side of her head as she slowly sat up in bed. "Don't push yourself…" Again Ritsu didn't respond but the voice sounded familiar. She looked to her left to see who was talking to her and stared at the person sitting on a chair beside her bed with squint eyes.

"Stop staring at me like that, as if you don't know who I am. Don't tell me you already have amnesia just from a little hit on the forehead."

Ritsu took a few seconds to recognize who it was, "Mika…? Sorry still a bit drowsy…"

"How's you're head Ricchan?" she asked with a smile but still looking a bit worried.

"It hurts…but I'm fine…," Ritsu said while rubbing her forehead.

"I'm really sorry about that, Akane could really have a very powerful hand sometimes."

"It's okay. It was an accident so don't worry about it."

"So why were you in the gym anyway? And all alone? You're always with Mio-chan and the other light music club members, so seeing you there was a rare sight."

"Well I forgot my drum sticks so I came back for it. I did want to celebrate with them, you know for Yui and Nodoka but they all had things to do, so I just randomly decided to check out the gym when I heard some people playing."

"Oh I see. That's too bad then, you guys weren't able to hang-out and celebrate."

"It's fine. Maybe we could do it tomorrow with Yui."

"But they're both amazing, aren't they? With the confession and everything. They're really perfect for each other and I'm just so happy for them. Though I was surprised at first but in a good way," Mika expressed happily.

"I know what you mean! I feel the same way," Ritsu agreed. "Made me a bit jealous of them."

"Really? How so?"

"Well they have all those years of friendship as a foundation to support what they have now. It's like their relationship with each other is so strong nothing can tear them apart already. How do I put it? In other words, it's already perfect even before they started dating," Ritsu explained as she scratch her head. "You know?...Sorry it's kind of hard to explain."

"It's fine, I think I understand what you mean," Mika said with a reassuring smile.

"That's why it sort of makes me want to be with someone too…," Ritsu said blushing and feeling embarrassed.

"But you have Mio-chan don't you? Aren't you guys childhood friends too?"

"Huh?! Yeah but no way! We're just friends," Ritsu laughed at the idea.

"I'm sure Yui-chan and Nodoka-chan said the same thing before they confessed to each other."

"Well…that makes sense…but Yui and Nodoka are different from us," Ritsu said putting a hand on her chin as she looked down.

"You two are a great combo – since you're always together. Just like Yui-chan and Nodoka-chan," Mika said with a smile.

"I _did_ have a crush on Mio when we're in elementary but that's it, nothing more. My feelings didn't even reach middle school."

"Well it was just a suggestion."

"So where's the nurse by the way?" Ritsu asked and changed the subject.

"Oh she said she needs to go to a staff meeting," Mika explained.

"I see. Aren't you going back to the gym and practice with your team?"

"You don't want me here?" Mika asked teasingly.

"Ah no! That's not it! I just thought that you guys are really practicing hard and I don't want to get in your way or something," Ritsu explained.

"Well we do have a game coming up in two weeks but it's fine, I need a little break anyway. The coach is really strict whenever we have a game," Mika said and slouched on her seat.

"So you're using me as an excuse just get out of practice?"

"Well I guess you could put it that way but that the nurse also said to look after you while she's gone so it's sort of a win-win situation. I get out of practice and you have someone to look after you," Mika said happily.

 _No matter how I look at it she's the only one benefitting in this…well I guess I do have someone to talk to for a while…_

So the two of them spent almost an hour just talking about club, school, friends, sports, music and other random stuff. They're in the same class but this is the first they get to talk to each other like that – both having a good time learning about each other. And before they knew it, the sun was already setting.

"It's gotten pretty late, I guess I should go home," Ritsu pointed out.

"Are you feeling better?" Mika asked again to make sure.

"Yeah, thanks. You should go back to practice too."

"Yeah I should."

"Good luck with your game. Where will it happen by the way?"

"Here at our school."

"Oh. Then maybe we could watch and cheer for you, plus Mio really likes to watch sports."

"Oh sure no problem…thanks. As long as you're free on that day."

"Then it's set," Ritsu said with a smile as she finished fixing her stuff.

"Check us out during our practice while you're at it. And you're welcome to join if you like," Mika said.

Ritsu laughed and said, "I'll probably refuse that last one; I'm not that good in sports."

After getting out the infirmary, Mika walked Ritsu to the school gate before going back to the gym.

 **At the gym**

Mika took a very deep breath and prepared herself before going in. _Alright! Here goes,_ Mika took one step in the gym and almost immediately her friends jumped on her.

"MIKAAAA! So how was it?!" Eri asked excitedly and put an arm around Mika's shoulder.

"How was what?" Mika tried to keep her cool.

"Come on don't play dumb. I'm talking about your _special_ _alone time_ with Ricchan."

"What do mean _special_? We just talked."

"Hoo~? You guys sure _took your time_ with just talking," Eri teased.

"Jeez, stop it Eri; we really just talked."

"But you guys were in the infirmary. _Things_ should happen in there, I mean it's a classic setting for getting to know each other and making l –…you know… _stuff_. You should thank Akane for that and her epic fail spike."

"That's mean Eri!" Akane commented.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is the time you had with Ricchan was like a once in a lifetime chance for you and you didn't take full advantage of it. I mean, you've been wanting to have her alone with you all this time don't you?"

"Well yeah but try to be real Eri; it's not like we're even close or anything. And we did get to know each other by just _talking_ ," Mika pointed out.

"She has a point," Akane joined in. "I think it's already a good thing that Mika got the opportunity to even talk to Ricchan, considering the fact that she's always with her friends."

"Well…I guess you're right. At least now, things could finally start moving between you two," Eri said with a grin on her face. "Shall we help you in your pursuit of your prince, _princess_?" Eri teasingly asked.

"What? Princess? Where'd that come from?" Mika asked looking very confused.

"Didn't you say you wanted to be a princess?" Akane reminded

"In a play, yes," Mika clarified.

"Say, why don't we suggest doing a Romeo and Juliet play for the festival?" Eri said happily.

"Yeah! Then we could have Ricchan as Romeo then have Mika play the princess," Akane said.

"Thanks but you guys seem to be forgetting something," Mika said. "Mio-chan…come on if Ricchan's going to be the prince there's no doubt Mio-chan will be the princess…always. We all know that."

"That's true but Mio-chan seems to be the shy type so there's still a chance," Akane encouraged.

"Yeah that's sti – " Eri suddenly stopped from what she was going to say because of an evil presence she felt behind her.

Mika and Akane felt it too making them all paralyzed in their spots.

"So? What are you guys think you're doing? I don't remember giving you three a break."

The three friends turned around with fear, "C-Coach…? W-We just – "

"20 LAPS AND DON'T YOU STOP!"

"R-Roger!" said the three and started running.

 **That night in Ritsu's room**

Ritsu lay on her bed with her hands behind her head still thinking about the highlight of everyone's day. She then recalled her conversation with Mika earlier in the infirmary:

 _"But you have Mio-chan don't you? Aren't you guys childhood friends too?"_

 _Childhood friend…Now that I think about it, when we were in elementary, what was it that I liked about her?...I can't remember_. Ritsu tossed and turned in her bed trying to remember the reason why she liked her friend before. After an hour, she stopped thinking and ended up with a slight headache. She took out her phone and dialed Mio's number. _Maybe I'll remember if I talk to her,_ it was ringing but she wasn't answering. _That's weird,_ Ritsu glanced at her clock, _9pm…Mio's usually free during this time. I wonder why she's not picking up, is she still helping with chores?_ She stayed on the line until Mio's voicemail was the one answered her call. She thought of calling their house but decided against it, _I don't want to disturb her parents at this hour. I guess I'll just talk to her tomorrow._

 **To be continued...**

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 **I hope you enjoyed that :)**

 **Again, if you don't know who Mika, Akane and Eri are please refer to Season2Episode18, Season2Episode25 and the movie (15:30).**

 **Feel free to review, comment or whatever :)**

 **Stay stuned for chapter 2 :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own K-On**

 **Here it is, chapter 2! Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)**

 **Again, please refer to Season2-Episode 18, 25 and the move (15:30) to know who Mika, Akane and Eri are.**

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Saturday morning and everyone agreed to meet at the Hirasawa's to have the celebration that was supposed to be held yesterday. Though they had second thoughts about it at first because Nodoka is expected to leave that day – _Yui might be sad and not want to celebrate_ , they said. "All the more reason we should do this!" Ritsu persuaded, "This will help cheer her up!" Convinced by the club president's words, they are now on their way to the Hirasawa's.

 _Yui and Ui are at the airport, huh?_ Ritsu thought as she read the message from their guitarist while she makes her way to their house. _Well of course they are_ , once again this reminded her of her question of, _how does it feel?_ She thought of asking the new couple but decided not to because somehow it's embarrassing for them and her; _well Yui might not feel shy about it though._ _But still I want to know…I wonder, if I could remember what is it that attracted me to Mio when we were kids then maybe…maybe I_ –

"Ritsu-senpai!" a familiar voice called out interrupting Ritsu's pondering.

"Yo! Azusa," Ritsu greeted. "I see you're on your way to Yui's as well."

"Yes. Let's walk together," Azusa said happily.

As they walk, Azusa noticed something different – _strange, Ritsu-senpai's awfully quiet._ She looked at her senior to see if she can get any answer from Ritsu's expression. _It looks like she's thinking about something, I would easily assume that she probably has some scheme in mind, but she looks so serious._ She was about to ask what's wrong when, "We're here!" Ritsu excitedly announced to her junior. _It's probably just nothing_ , Azusa thought and brushed off her curiosity. She rang the doorbell and Ui answered the door, _as always._

"Azusa-chan, Ritsu-san welcome!" Ui happily greeted. "Come in."

"So how's Yui doing?" Ritsu asked. "Is she all depressed or something?"

"Oh no, actually it's the opposite," Ui said.

"Really? I was so sure that Yui-senpai would be sad today," Azusa said. "Did something happen?"

"Well, it's best if you guys see for yourselves."

They went up to the living room and immediately they were surprised to see someone that wasn't supposed to be there. "Nodoka?! / Nodoka-senpai?!" Ritsu and Azusa said in unison. "We had the same reaction when we arrived," Mugi said who was sitting beside Mio.

"What a surprise!" Azusa said with a smile as she walked to the table with Ritsu and sat on the floor. "I thought you're leaving today senpai."

"Don't tell me you begged Nodoka's parents to let her stay or could it be you kidnapped her?" Ritsu said to Yui teasingly.

"No way, my parents decided to let me stay at the last minute. It was a surprise for me too," Nodoka explained.

"Well then this calls for a _double_ celebration!" Ritsu happily said and put an arm around Yui's shoulder.

"YEAH!" everyone said as Ui carried food from the kitchen to the living room.

They didn't get the chance to plan on what they'll do so they just went with whatever came to mind – playing games, nonstop eating and the expected teasing of the new couple in the group. "Hold on, I need to use the bathroom," Ritsu said and excused herself from the table. _I really can't remember no matter how much I look at Mio,_ Ritsu thought while she washed her hands after relieving herself. After letting out a sigh she turned off the faucet and decided to go back to her friends, _I'll think about this later._

"HYAAAAA!" Ritsu jumped out of surprise when she opened the door and saw Mugi standing inches away from the doorway. "Mu-Mugi…you scared me there…"

"Sorry, I was just waiting for you to finish," Mugi said with a smile.

"Well couldn't you wait a little further away from the door? Anyway, bathroom's all yours," Ritsu said and started to walk away.

"By the way, you've been staring at Mio a little too much ever since you got here, why's that Ricchan?" Mugi asked keeping her smile but her tone was different from what her face is showing and it made Ritsu a bit disturbed.

"No reason. Does it matter?

"Well I just find it a bit unusual so I want to know the reason behind it."

"Nah! It's nothing – "

"Why don't you meet me at Max Burger later when we're done here and let's talk about it. _Nothing_ is never really nothing, there's almost always _something_ in that _'nothing'_ , don't you think so?" Mugi said and went inside the bathroom; not letting Ritsu refuse her invitation.

Ritsu was just stunned that her friend knew, _well knowing Mugi she'll definitely sense it._

 **At Max Burger**

It was already 4 in the afternoon when Mugi and Ritsu met at Max Burger. Not knowing what could possibly happen; Ritsu felt uneasy. _Why do I feel so nervous about this? We're just going to talk…but knowing that I'll be talking to Mugi about this feels like…a bad idea._ Both of them didn't say a word to each other until after they got their food.

"So what's up?" Mugi immediately asked the moment she and Ritsu settled down in their seats with their order on the table.

"Really Mugi, it's no big deal…," Ritsu said trying to have her friend let go of the issue.

"You say that but you're here right now," Mugi said before eating a french fry.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if it's no big deal and you don't want to talk about it, why did you come here in the first place? Why did you meet me? You even ordered a big meal – special burger, extra large fries, a sundae, and a large drink, as if our conversation is going to last for hours. Or are you nervous about something?"

"Well...that's…," Ritsu looked away trying to think of an excuse.

"Hmm?" Mugi just looked at her with a smile.

Feeling pressured, Ritsu finally gave in. She sighed and said, "Fine, the truth is…you know…with how Yui and Nodoka are together now? I'm sort of…you know…I just got…sort of…um..."

"Jealous?" Mugi finished Ritsu's sentence for her.

"How did you – ?!" Ritsu immediately covered her mouth stopping herself from shouting.

"It's not that hard, Ricchan. The moment you mentioned Yui-chan and Nodoka-chan I already assumed that's the case. Why else would you keep staring at Mio-chan earlier? You two are childhood friends too, right? Could it be that you're hoping to be in a relationship with her too?" Mugi said before taking a sip from her soda.

"What?! No, that's not it! I swear!" Ritsu rapidly waved her hand with a blushing face. "Though it's true that I'm a bit jealous but I'm not thinking of having a relationship with Mio. I just want to know how it feels when…you know…when…you're in love," Ritsu explained looking down feeling very embarrassed.

Mugi's eyes widened upon hearing Ritsu's words and didn't respond for a while.

"Wha-What?" asked Ritsu when she noticed Mugi staring at her with a surprised expression on her face.

"Oh sorry it's just that, I never thought you'd be curious about love," Mugi explained. "So why were you staring _specifically_ at Mio if that's the case?"

"Well because I had a crush on her when we were in elementary and I'm trying to recall what made me attracted to her."

"You mean you're trying to remember the feeling you had back then?"

"Yeah! That's it!" Ritsu excitedly pointed at Mugi for giving the right answer.

"If you do remember, what then?"

"Huh? Then I'll know what it feels – "

"And? What else?"

"What do you mean? Is there more to it?"

"Tell me the truth Ricchan, do you really not intend to have Mio-chan as your girlfriend?"

"Huh? Yeah I don – "

"Ricchan, when you remember the feeling you had for Mio-chan before would also mean that you'd most likely be falling for her _again._ Do you understand? So your statement about not wanting Mio-chan to be your girlfriend completely contradicts with what you want to happen."

"Eh?..." What Mugi said surprised Ritsu, she didn't realize that that was what she was aiming. "Then, I guess that wouldn't be so bad. I mean, Mio's smart, cool, funny when she's sca – "

"Wait wait hold on there," Mugi interrupted and put a hand in front of Ritsu. "So what you're saying is you'll go for Mio-chan?"

"Yeah."

"B-But you don't even love her that way and she doesn't feel that way towards you," Mugi said and started to sound a bit distressed.

"That's true I don't feel that way… _for now_ that is. And how did you know about her feelings towards me?" asked Ritsu while looking at Mugi with very suspiciously.

"Eh?! I…uh…I asked her before and she she said she just sees you as a friend," the blonde said calmly keeping the stress and panic within herself.

"Oh I see. Well maybe I'll just start courti – "

"NO!" Mugi suddenly said and slammed the table with her fist, startling everyone around her.

 _Is Mugi mad?! I've never seen her get angry before_. "M-Mugi? What's wrong?"

"You can't just force something between you and Mio-chan just because you're jealous of Yui-chan and Nodoka-chan and you want a love of your own – love takes time! And don't talk as if it's just nothing, love shouldn't be taken lightly!"

"I get it so calm down Mugi! Everyone's looking this way already!" Ritsu pointed out.

"Oh!...Excuse me," Mugi blushingly said and kept her head down. "Anyway keep in mind what I said, okay?"

Ritsu nodded and both of them talked about something else until they're finished with their food, and then parted ways. _As expected, Mugi's really serious when it comes to love and such. But I don't really blame her though; everything she said made sense._ Ritsu pondered as she walked along the sidewalk. _Then again, it's not like I'm really going to force anything on Mio I'll just –_ "OW!" Something hard suddenly bounced off Ritsu's head from behind interrupting her thoughts.

"Sorry!" someone yelled out.

Ritsu rubbed the back of her head while she turned around to see who it was, "Mika?"

"Ricchan?"

"Oh! Ricchan! I'm really sorry about that," said Akane with an apologetic face.

"Ah no it's fine. Good thing it wasn't as strong as last time," Ritsu said with a friendly smile and picked up the volleyball for them.

"Wah! I'm sorry about that too!"

"It's okay. Anyway here, I see you guys are still practicing even outside the gym." Ritsu handed the ball to Mika.

"Thanks. And I see you're all alone again, Ricchan," Mika pointed out.

"I was with my friends earlier, we had that celebration already," Ritsu explained.

"Really? That's great! So whe – "

"AH! I forgot I need to go home and help my sister with her homework," Eri suddenly said interrupting Mika. "And Akane promised to help as well."

"Eh? I did?" Akane asked looking confused.

" _Yes!…_ Jeez Akane, you're so forgetful. We were just talking about that a while ago," Eri answered her friend while winking at her multiple times.

"O-Oh right! Yes! Sorry how silly of me," Akane said after understanding what Eri's winks meant.

"So uh…we'll go ahead now!" Eri said and immediately dragged Akane with her

"H-Hey! Wait! I thought you guys are going to help me with my shopping?!" Mika reminded.

"Ricchan will help you so see ya!" Eri then ran away with Akane.

"Wha - ?!" Mika finally realized what her friends did and why. She turned her attention to Ritsu and shyly said, "Um…sorry about that. You don't really have to come and help with my shopping."

"It's okay, there are some things I need to buy as well so let's keep each other company," Ritsu said with a smile.

"O-Okay." ~ _vvrrrr~_ Mika checked her phone and saw a message from Eri, [ _Enjoy your date ;)_ ] _THAT ERI!_

"What's wrong Mika?"

"Ah n-nothing, l-let's go," Mika said hiding her blushing face from Ritsu.

It didn't take too much time for them to buy the things they need since they already knew what to buy and where. In fact they only went to two stores, the music and sports shop, but they still took almost an hour from each stores. What took most of their time was their conversation with each other. They couldn't stop talking and sharing some knowledge about music and sports. And it was undeniable that they're both having a great time learning about each other.

 **At a family restaurant**

"Man I'm hungry!" Ritsu said and slumped into her seat. After 30 minutes of shopping and almost 2 hours of talking while walking the two finally ran out of gas to keep going. They lost track of time and didn't realize it was already 7 in the evening so they decided to eat dinner before going home.

"So you said you're a _setter_?" Ritsu started soon after the waitress took their order.

"Yup," Mika answered happily – thrilled that Ritsu remembered her position in the team. "I'm the one who toss the ball up for the spikers."

"Oh~ I thought anyone in the court can do that."

"Well not necessarily."

"And Akane's a spiker, right?"

"Yup and the best one in the team. She's very accurate and powerful with her spikes."

"Of course…no doubt about that," Ritsu said and put a hand on her forehead, remembering the hit she got Akane the day before.

"Does it still hurt?" Mika asked worriedly.

"Nah it's fine I just remembered how sca – I mean strong she her spike was."

"That's good to know. By the way, I've never been in this family restaurant before. Is the food here great? I mean you even suggested this place."

"Not so sure about the food but their chocolate cake is pretty awesome," Ritsu grinned.

"So how did you learn about this place?"

"From Sawa-chan, you see we followed her to this place when she met a friend of hers a few weeks ago."

"Why?" Mika asked looking very confused but at the same time interested.

"Let's just say we like to learn more about her private life."

"I'd like to know too," Mika enthusiastically said.

 _"Thank you for waiting,"_ the waitress arrived with their order in hand.

"For some reason it's exciting to know right? But let's eat first then I'll tell you everything I know."

After spending another hour and half, Mika and Ritsu are finally done and ready to go home.

"Thanks for today I had a fun," Ritsu said with a smile.

"Really?! – Er I mean I should be the one thanking you for helping me with my shopping."

"It's no problem like I said it was fun, I got to learn more about volleyball. I'm really looking forward to see you guys play."

"We actually have a practice match tomorrow at noon, why don't you come and watch?"

"Really? Sure, why not?"

 _Yes! She said yes!_

"Can I bring Mio along too?"

"Huh? Oh s-sure of course," Mika answered looking away and a bit disappointed.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow," Ritsu waved goodbye and walked away.

Ritsu took out her phone to let Mio know about the game tomorrow but she was surprised to see 10 missed calls and 20 messages from Mio. _Heck?! Why so many?_ She thought then dialed Mio's number. After ringing once Mio answered.

[Hello?! Ritsu?!]

-Mio what is it? Sorry I wasn't able to…–

[Where the heck are you?! I got worried when I called your house and your mom said you're still not home when we all left Yui's house 5 hours ago!]

-Calm down Mio I'm fine I just did a little shopping and I bumped into Mika along the way so we just hanged out a bit.-

[Oh thank goodness, I thought you were abducted or something.]

-By the way Mio do you want to watch a volleyball game tomorrow? Sakura High is going to have a practice match tomorrow at noon-

[Really?! Sure okay who are they up against?]

-I don't know. I forgot…anyway so see you tomorrow then?-

[Yeah! See you]

 _She's excited. That Mio…wait…what was I thinking before about her again?_ Ritsu stopped in her tracks and started thinking. _What was it?_ She scratched her head and after a while she remembered. _Oh right! I need to remember the feeling…I can't believe I forgot that. Why? I guess I got too distracted today._

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed that :)**

 **Feel free to comment, review or whatever :P**

 **Stay tuned for chapter 3 :)**


	3. Chapter 3a

**I don't own K-ON!**

 **Here it is chapter 3 and this is a long one, this chapter has 3 parts (I didn't expect this to be so long) :P. So this is chapter 3.a.**

 **Once again please refer to Season 2: Episode18, Episode25 and the move (15:30) to know who Saeki Mika, Satou Akane and Taki Eri are.**

 **PS: I used 3 more characters from the series. Wakaouji Ichigo, Wajima Maki and Nakanishi Toshimi, but they're not in this one yet just a head's up. Wajima Maki and Nakanishi Toshimi are also part of the volleyball club according to k-on*dot*wikia*dot*c0m, by the way that's where I got their last names. That's also one source to see who they are.**

* * *

The alarm clock sounded at 7:30 am waking up Mika from her slumber. _Ugh…prepare…need to prepare…match later_. She lazily got off of bed after turning her alarm off and opened her window curtains. _Ugh…sooo sleepy…why do we have to go to the gym so early and on a sunday? Coach can be really be demanding… 'A practice match is still a match so it shouldn't be taken lightly!' she said but I say she's just too serious._ Mika then turned her attention to her table and immediately the sight of the plastic bag from the sports shop she's been to yesterday fully woke her up. _That's right she's going to watch today! I need to prepare!_ She looked at the time and… _Gah!_ _7:33?! I'm going to be late!_

Mika ran all over the second floor of their house, which her mother didn't tolerate "Mika-chan! Stop running and stomping all over the place!" After 5 minutes she was running downstairs and straight in to the kitchen to eat breakfast.

"Mika-chan chew your food. Why are you in such a hurry anyway? Your coach said 8:30 right? It's only 7:40 and why are you wearing your kneepads and jersey already? You're game isn't till noon. You even used the new ones you just bought."

"Jeez mom you ask too many question. I need to be early so that I can start warming up."

"You're really taking this practice match seriously huh?"

"A practice match is still a match so it shouldn't be taken lightly."

"Are you sure you should be wearing your jersey this early? It will be drenched in sweat by the time your match starts."

"Mom jerseys are meant to be drenched in sweat anyway during games. Besides I have a spare so it's fine." Mika drank a glass full of orange juice before standing up from the table. "Done! I'm off see you later!"

"Wait! Do you have everything you need?"

Mika opened her bag to check, "Towel – check, extra shirt – check, volleyball – check, water – check, food – check…everything-else – check! See ya mom!" Mika said then ran out of their house.

"Hey! What's with that _'everything else'_?! You didn't check properly!" her mom shouted but Mika didn't respond anymore but waved goodbye instead.

 **At the gym**

Mika arrived at the school gym 30 minutes early from the call time, "Alright! Let's get this started!" _,_ she said to herself feeling extra motivated from the fact that Ritsu's going to watch the game later and started stretching. By the time their coach arrived 15 minutes later, Mika was almost done with her warm-up exercises.

"Mika? I didn't expect you to be here so early."

"Oh! Coach Koga! Good morning!"

"Why are you so early? The Saeki Mika I know is always late."

"That's mean coach! Just when I decided to put in the extra effort to be early today, this is how you treat me?" Mika pouted and put her hands on her waist.

"I can't help it I'm not used to you being so early."

"Oh Mika…coach! Mornin'" a familiar voice called out. It was Eri and Akane walking side by side.

"Well, I'll be in the office let me know if everyone is here already," coach Koga said and walked away.

"Mika why are in your jersey already?" Eri asked happily.

"I'll tell you why if you two apologize for leaving me all of a sudden yesterday," Mika said and started cracking her knuckles.

"A-Akane save me!" Eri immediately hid behind her friend.

"Eh?!...Hold on Mika…um…Ah! Are those your new kneepads?" Akane immediately changed the subject.

"Huh? Y-yeah…," Mika's mood instantly changed.

Eri then saw the blush on her friend's face and knew why, "What's this? Yellow kneepads? I thought you said you want black kneepads."

"Oh yeah you did say that. I would understand if it's red because it's your favorite color but yellow…?" Akane started questioning it too.

"W-Well I don't see anything wrong with wearing yellow it's cute," Mika said and turned away.

"But I thought you hate wearing anything yellow when playing because it represents cowardice and deceit," Akane said.

"I-It also means optimism and cheerfulness so it's fine – "

"Oh really?" Eri said smiling mischievously. "Could it be…Ricchan was the one who chose those kneepads for you?"

Mika didn't answer but her blushing face was already enough for a response and for Eri to keep teasing her friend.

"Oh! By the way, why are you here so early? I've never seen you early for practices or games ever, are you excited or something for some reason? I bet she's going to watch our practice match today."

"O-Oh look the others are here I'll just inform the coach," Mika said pointing at the other members coming in and hurriedly walked away, avoiding Eri's teasing. _Whoa good timing…jeez that Eri._

"Ricchan's definitely coming later you can see it from her face," Eri whispered to Akane.

"Yup," Akane happily agreed.

An hour before the match, the volleyball team from the other school arrived and started their preparation. Friends and supporters of both teams also arrived a few minutes later. It's only a practice match but both teams are taking this seriously and the tension in the gym is increasing. Only ten minutes left before the game and both teams are given the chance to have their final warm-up and ball handling drills.

"Good luck Mika-chan!" "Mika-senpai! You can do it!" yelled the Sakura high students.

Mika smiled and waved at her supporters from the bench.

"Well aren't we popular."

Mika turned to her side, "Ricchan! I'm glad you made it…huh? Where's Mio-chan?"

"She's outside talking to someone in the pho – GAH!"

"Ricchan! Are you okay?" Mika worriedly asked.

"AH! I'm sorry!" Akane yelled while running towards the bench. "Ricchan! Are you okay? I'm really sorry I slipped when I was going to hit the ball."

"I'm really starting to think you have grudge on me and you're hitting me on purpose," Ritsu said while holding her head.

"That's not true! That was just an accident I swear!"

"You should be at least used to it by now," Eri said and put an arm on Ritsu.

"I don't want to end up having a hemorrhage…hmm? Eri why are you wearing a different colored jersey?" a curious Ritsu asked.

"That's because I'm special," Eri proudly said.

"Stop joking around."

"Nope she's right Ricchan…well sort of," Mika said.

"Eh?! How is she special?!"

" _Princess_ Mika! Coach Koga said it's time for the coin toss!" a junior called out making Mika blush now that Ritsu heard it.

"Princess?"

"Eri! You told them to call me that didn't you?!" Mika scolded her friend.

"I didn't I just told them you want a princess role in a play that's all," Eri explained.

"Why you – "

"Really? Well that kind of role suits you," Ritsu commented making Mika's face to turn bright red. "Oh you're wearing the kneepads, it looks great!" Ritsu added.

"T-Thanks…," Mika shyly said. "I-I need to go now."

"Yeah us too," Eri said.

"Sorry again," Akane apologized before running to their coach.

"Good luck I'll be cheering for you guys!" Ritsu excitedly said.

 **Outside the gym**

 _Now where did Mio go the game's about to start,_ Ritsu went out the gym and saw her best friend still talking on the phone. _Who is she talking to?...She seems troubled, I wonder what they're talking about._ Ritsu went a bit closer hoping to hear something.

[…I keep telling you, we're just going to watch a volleyball game…]

 _Did she forget to ask permission?_

[You're not making any sense we already talked about this before, why are you so mad – hello?...hello?]… "She hang up on me…"

"Mio?"

"Ritsu! Oh hey what is it?" Mio said forcing a smile.

"Come on the game's about to start."

"R-Right! Let's go."

"Who were you talking to? You seemed really bothered," Ritsu asked.

"Huh? Uh…my cousin…"

"Which one?"

"T-The one you never met before, Mu- Mutsuki! That's right Mutsuki-chan, s-she wanted to hang-out today and she's been bugging me all day about it but, you know, I said we're going to watch a game."

"I see…how come I've never met her before?"

"Well she's staying in London with her parents and just came back for the summer," Mio explained avoiding eye contact. "A-Anyway let's go."

"Yeah." _Mio chose to spend time with me than her cousin,_ Ritsu smiled and said happily, "I hope we win."

"Yeah." _Thank God Ritsu stopped asking…but I wonder why she suddenly invited me to watch and why only me? More importantly why is Mugi so mad today? Did I do something? Was it because I only told her about it this morning? But she never had any issue with that before…*sigh* Maybe this was a bad idea_.

 ** _To be continued..._**

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed that :)**

 **Feel free to review, comment or whatever :)**

 **On to the next one...**


	4. Chapter 3b

**I don't own K-ON!**

 **Chapter 3.b and as I mentioned last time I used 3 new characters from the series.**

 **Again refer to Season 2: Ep.18 (3:31), Ep.25 (19:33) and the movie (15:30) to know who Saeki Mika, Satou Akane and Taki Eri are.**

 **As for Nakanishi Toshimi and Wajima Maki, refer to Season 2 Ep.25 (19:33).**

 **For Wakaouji Ichigo refer to, Season 2: Ep.10 (11:53, 13:05), Ep.17 (5:31, 6:43), Ep.18 (3:28), Ep.22 (13:38), Ep.25 (19:12) and the movie (1:23:34, 1:28:55). Somehow Ichigo became one of my favorite characters :P**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Back in the gym**

When Ritsu and Mio got back in the gym, the number of audience that came to watch and support increased. Cheers for their school echoed in the whole gym while the players have their final preparations and the coaches give their last advice and orders.

"Isn't that Ichigo?" Ritsu pointed to the pigtailed girl sitting by the courtside.

"I guess she's the play-by-play announcer," Mio said after taking notice of the mic that was in front of Ichigo.

"Play by play? What's that?"

"They're the ones who give a running commentary of a game."

"Oohh~…Come on!" Ritsu then dragged Mio as she ran towards their classmate.

"Wai – Ritsu!"

"Yo! Ichigo!" Ritsu greeted. "So are you the play-by-play announcer?"

"Yes," Ichigo nonchalantly answered.

"I didn't think they'd have a commentator in a practice game and what's with this crowd?" Mio asked after realizing the large number of people at the second floor of the gym just to watch a practice game.

"I know having a play-by-play announcer is just nonsense. It's like they're saying that these people are blind. Oh well somehow I understand, both the teams and their supporters are taking this seriously they want to treat this as the real thing. These two teams are said to be rivals for so many years," Ichigo explained.

"I never thought you'd volunteer for this job, Ichigo," Ritsu commented knowing how Ichigo looks so indifferent about so many things.

"I didn't. The one who is supposed to be doing this called in sick so the coach made me do it."

"I thought so. Say, can we take the seats beside you?" Ritsu asked.

"What? We can't do that, we don't have any reason to other than to watch," Mio opposed.

"Then you could be the scorer," Ichigo suggested.

"Thanks Ichigo. Now we could have front row sea – "

Mio immediately said "Okay" and took a seat.

"Wow that was fast," Ritsu said while taking a seat beside Ichigo. She felt happy to be able to give Mio the best seat in the house.

"I'm surprised to see you two here today," Ichigo said to the non-sports club members.

"Well I invited Mio to watch and I promised Mika I'd watch their game today and the one next week," Ritsu explained.

"I see."

"Oh by the way why is Eri wearing a different colored jersey? And it's the same with that one player in the other team."

"I've been wondering the same thing for a while now, whenever I watch volleyball matches there's always one player with a different uniform," Mio said.

"That's because she's a _libero_ ," Ichigo answered.

"What's that?" Mio and Ritsu asked in unison.

"A libero is a defensive specialist that can only play at the back row. They don't count as substitution so they can freely enter/exit the court without the need to inform the referee and replace any player in the back row only. However, they are not allowed to block, attack nor serve. Her main job is to dig, pass and keep the ball alive," Ichigo explained.

"But why have them wear a different colored uniforms?" Mio asked again.

"I don't know I didn't come up with such rules."

"Right! Sorry," Mio said and looked down feeling embarrassed of her lack of common sense.

"You said _dig_ , what's that?" Ritsu asked this time.

Ichigo sighed before answering, "Digging is preventing the ball from touching one's court after a spike or attack, particularly a ball that is nearly touching the ground."

"Ooohhh~ I'm learning," Ritsu said happily.

"Yeah Ichigo you know so much about volleyball," Mio praised.

"Not really, the baton club shares the gym with them for 3 years so the chance to learn something about volleyball is there."

 **At the Sakura High bench**

"Look Mika, Ricchan's at the court side with Ichigo," Akane informed her friend.

"Really?" Mika immediately shifted her attention to the announcer's table. "Why is she there?"

"Why not? That only means she really wants to watch you closely _princess_ ," Eri said teasingly making Mika blush.

"Why do you have to say that? Now I'm nervous!" Mika complained.

"I didn't know Mio-chan's with her," Akane pointed out.

"Well Ricchan mentioned she'd invite Mio-chan today," Mika's enthusiasm dropped when she saw Mio.

"Get your head in the game! I don't want you losing focus before the match," coach Koga reminded her players.

"Yes coach!"

"Mika!"

"Y-Yes!"

"Listen," coach Koga then put an arm around her shoulder, "instead of getting conscious because Tainaka's watching use this opportunity to show off your awesome skills as a _setter._ "

"R-Right! That makes sen – Wait! Coach you kno – "

"Everyone in this team knows…"

"What?!"

"That doesn't matter right now! As I was saying, so what if the ever-popular bassist Akiyama Mio is with her? You're popular too so this is your chance, yes we know the childhood friend often wins when it comes to love but that doesn't mean you don't have any fighting chance right? Now, make her look at only you…make her forget about Mio…show her what you've got!"

"YEAH!" Mika shouted and is all fired up once again. Her teammates could also feel her fighting spirit and was easily influenced by it.

"That's the spirit!" Eri cheered.

"LET'S WIN THIS THING!" Mika said to her teammates and raised her fist.

The rest of them did the same and said, "YEAH!"

The game is going to start in just a few seconds and Ichigo is looking at her watch, counting the time remaining before she starts the introduction. The crowd settled down a bit, the players all pumped up and ready to go – everyone anticipating Ichigo's announcement of the start of the game. _5…4…3…2…_ { _It's now time to start this practice game}_ Ichigo said emotionlessly. "Hey, couldn't you do it with more energy? Or at least sound a bit excited." Ritsu whispered thinking Ichigo ruined the happy mood of the audience when cheers from everyone in the gym suddenly sounded despite the announcer's unenthusiastic start. "Why? It's a _practice game,_ " Ichigo answered the drummer and emphasized her point. Ritsu let it go since people don't seem to mind Ichigo's aloofness.

 _{I'm Wakaouji Ichigo and I'll be the play-by-play announcer for this match. So let's get this thing started and over with so the baton club could finally use the gym.}_

"Hey Wakaouji! No unnecessary statements!" coach Koga.

Ichigo looked at her and said, { _Moving on…}_

"Don't ignore me!"

 _{This practice match will be between Sakuragaoka High and South Midori Academy. As always, this game will consist of five sets; the first team to win three sets wins the match.}_

"Come on Ichigo liven it up a little, give the people a little info or trivia about these schools or something," Ritsu suggested.

"That doesn't make any sense, do you not see and hear how pumped up the audience are already? Plus the people already know everything about these schools and their players…but I guess you're right I'll give it a try," Ichigo said and then proceeded.

 _{The referee, assistant referee and line judges for today are…not really important…}_

"Hey!" the officials complained.

 _{Well it's true, people don't really care about your names, they care more about the calls you guys are going to make during the game…}_

"Hey Wakaouji! Do you your job right!" coach Koga yelled out.

 _{By the way here's another trivia about our officials today, did you know that they, together with coach Koga and coach Utagawa, are graduates of this school? They used to play volleyball together, so if ever there seem to be any biased calls later you all know why…}_

"Stop ignoring me Wakaouji and that won't happen!"

"How's that?" Ichigo consulted Ritsu after taking up her suggestion completely ignoring coach Koga.

"Wow I didn't know that. That was good…well it could've been better if you didn't have such a cold tone."

"I can't do anything about that."

"By the way, what are _line judges_?" Ritsu asked.

"The line judges are the ones with flags and stand at the corners of the court watching the lines to indicate whether a ball in play falls in or out of the court," Mio answered this time.

"Oh I see."

 _{Now that takes care of the officials, it's time now to announce the first six players from Sakura High:  
Number 15 – Ooba Ayu  
Number 10 – Nakanishi Toshimi  
Number 8 – Wajima Maki  
Wing Hitter Number 2 – Satou Akane  
Libero Number 1 – Taki Eri  
and last but not least Captain and Setter Number 7 – Saeki Mika…}_

"Eh?! Mika's the captain?!" Ritsu accidentally interrupted out of surprise.

"I'm surprised you didn't know almost everyone in this school knows. I'm more surprised with how popular she is, I mean look at how they're cheering for her," Mio said after hearing the crowd cheer for Mika.

"I think you guys have an equal number of fans so don't be jealous," Ichigo said and put a hand on Mio's shoulder.

"I'm not jealous!"

"But I noticed the Sakura High fans started cheering loudly when you mentioned the last three players, I wonder why," Ritsu said to Ichigo.

"Well that's because they're the best at what they do. Akane was awarded _MVP_ for two years in a row, Eri was awarded as the _Best Libero_ for two years in a row and Mika was awarded as the _Best Setter_ and _Captain of the Year_ for two years in a row; plus some other awards like _Best Digger, Best Blocker, Best Attacker, Best Server_ and so on. But don't worry other players also got some award…I think. Also it's because of them that Sakura High won the national championships for the 5th time again last year, of course their teammates helped too. It's said that coaches from different universities are already planning to recruit them."

Mio and Ritsu just ended up gawking after hearing the Sakura High Volleyball Team's achievements.

"What? You don't read the school paper? The light music club is so carefree..."

"W-Well we…," Ritsu has troubling thinking of an excuse.

"Anyway, the only team that is always a great threat for Sakura High in winning championships is South Midori Academy. They're a good team but not good enough I guess since they've been hoarding silver medals for the past 5 years," Ichigo added.

"A-Amazing…," was all the two best friends could say.

 _Amazing I never knew that they're this good,_ Ritsu then looked at Mika and the others, _they don't look like the classmates and friends that I know especially Mika…it's written in her face that she's all fired up, maybe because she's the captain and she probably got everyone else to feel the same. Amazing focus despite that this is just a practice game._ Meanwhile, Ichigo let the fans cheer it all out before proceeding with the introductions of the other team and after a minute she finally got the chance.

 _{Now the first six players of South Midori Academy are:  
Captain and Wing Hitter Number 9 – Kageyama Satsuki  
Setter Number 20 – Aki Youko  
Libero Number 13 – Andou Hikari  
Number 3 – Iizuka Maya  
Number 6 – Arita Yuki  
and Number 25 – Usami Kaede}_

Supporters of SMA cheered as loud as the fans of Sakura High, not letting them to be out-cheered by the opponent. The players are already in position and just waiting for the first whistle of the game.

 _{Usami Kaede of SMA will have the ball to serve…}_

 _{And the first whistle was blown…a jump serve from Usami}_

 _{Ball received by Eri, passed it to Mika and Akane jumped for a spi – … oh but Mika suddenly used the tip catching the SMA blockers off guard and Sakura High gets the first point.}_

"What's the _tip_?" Ritsu asked getting curious again.

"It's when a player softly touch the ball just over the net or over the blockers," and Ichigo explained again.

"Cool! I was sure Akane will hit it."

"It was a bluff and the blockers fell for it."

"So that's what that move is called…now I know," Mio commented.

"Be sure to keep score," Ichigo reminded.

 _{It's Nakanishi's turn to serve for Sakura…}_

 _{There's the whistle and~ the jump serve… a sharp serve there…}_

 _{Received by Iizuka set up by Andou and a tip from Kageyama…and the ball went over the Sakura blockers she almost killed the ball but Eri got the blockers' back and saved it…}_

 _{Followed by a jump set from Mika and Akane finished it fast and hard SMA didn't even have enough time to react…and that gives Sakura another point. It's now 2 to nothing…}_

 _{Nakanishi serving again and~…oh too bad SMA libero Andou wasn't able to save it…It's now 3 to nothing and that's 1 ace for Sakura}_

"Time out!" an irritated coach Utagawa shouted.

 _{Time out SMA…}_

"Amazing! Eri saved that ball so effortlessly, it's like she already knew where the ball will land in advance Also that last attack of Sakura High was so fast and Akane hit it so hard I barely saw the ball," Ritsu excitedly commented.

"That's because Mika jump set. You do that if you want to speed up your offense because you'll reach the ball sooner," Mio explained.

"Now you understand what I mean about those three," Ichigo said.

"Yeah it's like Mika can control everyone," Ritsu said.

"Don't make it sound like she's a dictator or something. It's because she's a setter that's what setters do, they control how their offense will be plus she's the captain."

"That's so cool! By the way you mentioned something about _ace_ for Sakura, what does that mean," Ritsu asked.

"I knew you'd ask. It's a serve that lands in the opponent's court without being touched, or is touched, but unable to be kept in play by one or more receiving team players," Ichigo answered.

"Oh I see. Man you sure know a lot Ichigo," Ritsu praised.

"SMA called a time out so early in the game. It's such a waste," Mio commented.

"Why do you say so?"

"Well because in every set, each team only has 2 time outs," Mio explained.

"But there's still the two technical time outs later. I think having 2 more for each team is already too many," Ichigo reminded.

"What happens in a technical time out? When will that happen?" asked again by Ritsu.

"I have a feeling you're questions will keep doubling everytime."

"Well I can't help it if I'm curious."

"A technical time-out is taken in each set when the leading team reached the 8th and 16th points, except for the 5th set. Technical time-outs lasts for a minute as compared to a regular time-out that only lasts for 30seconds."

"Ooh~"

"However, with regards to Mio's statement, in my opinion it was a good idea for coach Utagawa to call for that time-out."

"Really?!" Mio and Ritsu said surprised that the time-out was a good idea.

"Not only will she remind her players to keep their heads in the game it will also stop Sakura High to gain momentum."

The referee blew her whistle, calling back the players to get back in the court.

 _{Nakanishi with the serve…and that just hit the net. Finally giving a point to SMA… }_

"See? Breaking the momentum," Ichigo proved her point. And once again the two best friends were left speechless.

 _{Now it's Iizuka with the serve…}_

 _{And~ the ball is out…according to the line judges}_

"What?! That was _in_! The ball landed on the line!" coach Utagawa protested. "I want a _challenge!_ "

 _{Sorry we don't have any cameras set up for today's practice match so you'll just have to have faith that age hasn't caught up with your friends' eye sights yet.}_

"We're not that old!" the officials and the coaches all prostested.

"A video challenge is an instant replay review that coaches can request to have a closer look if there were any violations made or if the ball was in or out or if the ball made contact with a player before it went out," Ichigo immediately said after making her comment. "I know you'd probably ask so I beat you to it," the announcer said to Ritsu who looked very grateful for Ichigo's info and patience.

 _ **To be continued...**_

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed that :)**

 **Feel free to review, comment or whatever :)**

 **On the the next!**


	5. Chapter 3c

**I don't own K-ON!**

 **Chapter 3.c and as I mentioned last time I used 3 new characters from the series.**

 **Again refer to Season 2: Ep.18 (3:31), Ep.25 (19:33) and the movie (15:30) to know who Saeki Mika, Satou Akane and Taki Eri are.**

 **As for Nakanishi Toshimi and Wajima Maki, refer to Season 2 Ep.25 (19:33).**

 **For Wakaouji Ichigo refer to, Season 2: Ep.10 (11:53, 13:05), Ep.17 (5:31, 6:43), Ep.18 (3:28), Ep.22 (13:38), Ep.25 (19:12) and the movie (1:23:34, 1:28:55).**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

So the game went on with Sakura High leading and eventually reached the first technical time-out. The score was 8 – 5 but when the game started again, South Midori Academy became more fierce and finally took the lead until they're the ones who got to the technical time-out point with the score of 15 – 16. It was a very intense first set, the rallies began to last longer just after the first technical time-out and Ritsu couldn't believe that she'd be so in to watching volleyball.

 _This is so fun, everyone is so good; Akane, Eri…especially Mika. It's just so amazing how she can set the ball for the right person at the right time and at the right place. I know that's part of their training but still, she needs to decide where, when, how and who on the spot in a split second. What's even more amazing is her teammates can easily understand what she needs – no wonder they made her captain. It's like I'm watching Keith Moon of The Who only it's volleyball._ _I bet Mio's feeling excited as I am,_ Ritsu then turned her attention to best friend who's not even paying attention to the game, _huh? She's texting? I wonder who._ 20 minutes have passed during the first set and Sakura High is leading with 24 – 23.

"Say, getting 25 points means you win right?" Ritsu asked feeling excited that Sakura High only needs one more point.

"Yes but a team must also hold at least a two-point lead," Ichigo answered. "Unless that happens the game will continue until one of them gets the two-point lead."

"Eh?!" _Oh God let Sakura High get this point._

 _{It's now Akane's turn to serve… }_

 _{Jump serve…and Andou got it almost losing that ball oh but she hit it too hard! The ball's going to Sakura's side and…Mika immediately tipped it to the opposite side of her three blockers and killed the ball instantly. Sakura High wins the first set.}_

The crowd went wild afterwards, jumping and chanting Mika's name over and over. And Ritsu was also shouting for joy. { _Calm yourselves people before you all destroy the second floor of the gym and fall to your deaths from your simultaneous jumping. Sakura High just won the FIRST SET not the world cup.}_ Ichigo said and got the fans to stop jumping but she wasn't that successful in calming them down.

 **At the Sakura High bench**

"Nice one Mika! You show off," Eri said and slapped their captain on the back.

"That hurt Eri! And what do you mean show off? I just did what I had to since the chance was already there."

"Ricchan's been cheering for you ever since the game started aren't you happy? And look she's still cheering."

"S-Shut up! I was too focused in the game I didn't hear her," Mika said but her blushing face says the complete opposite.

 **Back to the Announcer's table**

"Man that was such an awesome set. I still can't get over it, I mean did you see that?! That tip Mika did was genius! Pure genius I tell you! There were three blockers blocking her and still she was able to get that winning point! She's amazing!" Ritsu said to Ichigo feeling very excited.

"Yes, I know I saw that too. Yes, she's the best now get over it."

"Jeez, Ichigo you kill joy. Why can't you be excited a little?"

"I see them be amazing in volleyball everyday during practice for three years so I'm used to it."

It was then Ritsu fetl that something was missing, _Mio._ She turned to her side and saw Mio wasn't there. "Where's Mio?" asked Ritsu.

"She went to the bathroom while you were busy telling me how amazing Mika is."

"Oh I see. Then I'll go too, be back in a bit," Ritsu exited the court and head to the bathroom.

As Ritsu walked she heard a voice echoing in the hallway, _Mio? It came from the bathroom, is she on the phone again?_ Ritsu peeked from the bathroom door to check if it really was Mio, _I thought so…she's on the phone again_. Mio was facing the other way and didn't realize Ritsu was by the door.

"Mi – "

[You're not making any sense! Why would that happen?!]

Ritsu was startled when Mio suddenly raised her voice. _Is she fighting with someone?_ She assumed so she decided not to interrupt her call.

[What _is_ wrong with you today?! Why are you so mad?!]

 _You're mad too Mio. I wonder if it's her cousin, Mutsuki-chan…It seems like she's still mad._

[Ah wai – no I'm sorry for yelling please don't cry…]

 _Oh you've done it now Mio, you made you're cousin cry._

[Mugi I'm sorry…]

 _Mugi?! Wait…she's talking to Mugi?_

[No it's okay…I just wish you'd tell me what I did wrong I mean you've been like that all day…]

 _All day? Then Mutsuki-chan is…but…why did Mio…?_

[I love you Mugi…you know that…]

 _Huh…?_

[…you can be selfish as much as you want…]

 _What…what's going on…?_

[But I _am_ worried…can't we talk about this?]

 _Mugi and Mio are…?_

[But I…wait…Mugi… –] "Why does she keep hanging up?…That's it I'll come over to her house and – " Mio turned around and saw Ritsu looking at her with a surprised expression making Mio stunned herserlf. "Ri-Ritsu…?! How long have you…? Did you…?"

"You…? And Mugi…a-are…are you…?" Ritsu was too shocked to confirm her assumptions.

Mio looked away and didn't know what to do; she wanted to make up another lie but Ritsu already heard everything. Of course she didn't really want to lie to her best friend and hide her relationship with Mugi, she's just not ready to tell her the truth yet. And knowing Ritsu's possessive nature towards her, she might get mad at both of them or something. _I don't want that, that's why I tried not to get too close to Nodoka during our second year._ She didn't want to risk breaking their friendship by telling her the truth but now that Ritsu found out that Mio lied to her about Mugi, their friendship is now in an even more risk. This has put Mio in conflict with herself, she wants to deal with the situation she has now with Ritsu but she wants to go to Mugi and find out what's really bothering her at the same time.

"H-Hey Mio answer me – "

"Yes!...Yes we're dating…I'm sorry I lied to you…"

"Y-You two…are…"

"I'm really sorry Ritsu. I promise we'll talk about this later right now I…I need to go to Mugi."

"B-but – "

"I'm really sorry…," Mio made her decision and went out the door. She ran and didn't even look at Ritsu – she couldn't. _I'm sorry Ritsu please…I hope you understand._

Ritsu remained frozen in her spot still dumbfounded.

 _"…she doesn't feel that way towards you…"_

 _"…how did you know about her feelings towards me?"_

 _"Eh?! I…uh…I asked her before…"_

"…So that's why…," Ritsu recalled her talk with Mugi yesterday.

 _"Oh I see. Well maybe I'll just start courti – "_

 _"NO!..."_

Even the day before yesterday, she remembered…

 _"Ah…sorry Ricchan my parents won't be home tonight so I have to entertain the guest(s) that will be arriving later…"_

 _"I can't come either, I…uh…I promised mama that I'll help her with chores tonight."_

"It all makes sense now…" Ritsu remembered everything.

 _"But I do admit that I'm in love with her…"_

 _"…by the way, you seem very calm Mio. Did you know about this?..."_

 _"Me? Of course I didn't know. If I did so what? What's the big deal anyway? I hope they live happily ever after…"_

 _"What's up with her?..."_

 _Why didn't I see it?!...All this time…Why didn't they tell me?!_ It was certain that finding out the truth that way was painful and it made her mad. In less than a minute, her best friend became someone she doesn't know anymore. The only thing she knows right now is, _Mio lied…of all people…why?...why?!..._ "WHY?!" Ritsu's voice echoed in the bathroom as she punched the wall out of frustration.

 **At the Sakura High bench**

"Huh?...," Mika suddenly turned around looking for something.

"Mika what's wrong? What is it?" Akane asked looking concerned.

"I think I just heard Ricchan's voice."

"What are you talking about? I think you're too obsessed with Ricchan already that you're starting to hallucinate," Eri said.

"I'm not obsessed!" Mika protested then noticed that Ritsu's not at the announcer's table, "Where's Ricchan?...and Mio-chan?"

"See? Obsessed?" Eri said proving her statement about Mika.

"Shut up Eri I'm just wondering, that's not being obsessed."

"I saw Mio-chan running out the gym earlier as for Ricchan I'm not sure," Akane said.

"Eh? Why? What happened?"

"Alright! Gather round you guys!" coach Koga said to her players leaving Mika's question unanswered. "Mika? Come on, your prince Ritsu's probably went to the bathroom," the coach said after seeing the captain looking very worried that Ritsu's not there.

"Y-Yeah…"

And not long after, the referee blew her whistle indicating the start of the second set. The crowd started to cheer again and the players are all pumped up and ready to play once more – except for _one_. { _We are now ready to start the second set.}_ Ichigo announced, _where in the world is my scorer and miss 'ask-a-lot'?_

 _ **To be continued...**_

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed that :)**

 **Feel free to review, comment or whatever :)**

 **The day isn't over yet for Mika, Ritsu and Mio so stay tuned for chapter 4 :P**


	6. Chapter 4

**I don't own K-ON!**

 **Here's chapter 4 :)**

 **Again refer to Season 2: Ep.18 (3:31), Ep.25 (19:33) and the movie (15:30) to know who Saeki Mika is.**

 **Wakaouji Ichigo is in, Season 2: Ep.10 (11:53, 13:05), Ep.17 (5:31, 6:43), Ep.18 (3:28), Ep.22 (13:38), Ep.25 (19:12) and the movie (1:23:34, 1:28:55).**

* * *

The buzzing cicadas accompanied Ritsu that afternoon as she sat in her chair, alone in their classroom. It's been 3 hours since she found out about Mio's secret, she's calmed down but clearly still mad. _Why?..._ a question that has never left her mind. She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. _Was it because I'm sitting in front that I never noticed anything?_ _How long have they been hiding their relationship from me?_ _Since when?!_ She wanted to go their clubroom and play the drums but she didn't bring her sticks with her; making her more frustrated.

 _They easily got close to each other back when we first met Mugi…especially during our first training ca – wait…now that I think about it…yeah, that's right…why are they together most of the time?! Sitting, walking and standing next to each other…the only thing left is for them to hold hands! God! Why didn't I see that?! Then… that means, they've been going out since first year?! No no that's impossible…right? Those times were probably coincidence…right coincidence…but it happened so many times for it to be just coincidence! Argh! Ritsu you're thinking too much._

With nothing to do and no one to talk to, Ritsu found herself remembering every moment she had with Mugi and Mio. And one event got stuck in her mind for a while, the time when they followed Sawako to that family restaurant. _'I'm not interested in love…Rather, light music is like my lover right now…' is what Mio said…tch! That liar…they even sat together that day…'coincidentally'._ Eventually, Ritsu got tired of thinking, so she stopped for a while and just listened to the cicadas. _Mio lied to me…and chose to comfort Mugi instead of me…she loves her more than me…is that what it means to love? It's not fair._ "It's not fair! I don't understand anything!" The door suddenly opened startling Ritsu and stopping her from her thoughts. It was Ichigo, looking emotionless as always.

"I think you're a little too early for the next semester for you to be shouting those words."

"Ichigo…?"

"Yeah…that's my name," Ichigo nonchalantly answered and walked towards her desk, passing by Ritsu's.

Ritsu watched her get some papers from her desk and didn't say anything.

"Do you want something from me?" Ichigo broke the silence.

"Huh? Me? No. Why would you say that?"

"Because the way you're staring at me is like you're waiting for me to do or say something."

"W-What?...No…sorry," Ritsu said and looked away.

Ichigo noticed how troubled the drummer looked and felt a little guilty for being so cold to her. "You look like you really want someone to talk to."

"What? Oh no, it's okay I'm fine."

"Well don't say I didn't give you the chance," Ichigo started to walk out the room with the pieces of papers in hand she got from her desk when she felt her jacket suddenly got tugged. "What? Did you change your mind?"

Ritsu didn't answer and just gave a slight nod.

"It can't be helped then," Ichigo said and took the seat beside Ritsu's desk. "I guess that will explain why you and Mio suddenly disappeared earlier."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Ritsu still told her what happened – from the very beginning. Ichigo on the other hand, was surprised that the story will start from three days ago, it wasn't evident on her face though. _This is going to take some time,_ Ichigo thought. Despite having things to do in the baton club, she still listened patiently and didn't complain. After half an hour, Ritsu was done with her story, but another half she spent on just ranting.

"Can you believe it Ichigo?! I mean how could the – "

"Stop." Ichigo suddenly interrupted. "If I hear the words _lie, liar, betray_ and _traitor_ again I might go crazy. I've been hearing them over and over again for the passed thirty minutes."

"Sorry, but I can't help it…"

"Right. Anyway, from everything you said let me just clarify something. You're mad because Mio lied and kept her relationship with Mugi from you and chose her over you?"

"Yes!"

" _OR_ …is it because your plan on courting Mio so you could fall in love with her again and make her fall for you afterwards and have your very own happily ever after just like Yui and Nodoka failed before you could even start?"

"Huh? W-Well I…"

" _OR…_ is it because Mugi got to Mio first?"

"T-That's…"

" _OR_ …is it all of them?"

"I…uh…"

"So it's all of them huh?"

"What?! I didn't – "

"Well I won't touch the last two reasons, you just need acceptance with those. Now in my opinion, getting mad at Mio is just natural but thinking that she's a liar and a traitor is completely unreasonable, heartless and stupid."

"But she – "

"Yes she lied to keep her relationship with Mugi a secret from you but don't you think she has her reasons as to why she lied? As her _childhood friend,_ I think you, of all people, should understand this the most."

"Well…I…yeah…"

"And it's not as if you never lied to Mio at least once in your life. So stop accusing her as if you're perfect."

"But I'm mad I couldn't help it."

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"I think 3 hours – "

"Three hours? Just sitting here and pondering? After three 3 hours you didn't even realize that there could be a reason behind Mio's lie? For 3 hours you just kept on condemning your _childhood friend_?"

"Okay I get it. I'm slow. Besides it's not that easy to forget what she did, it's the worse."

"Your problem is not so hard to solve. You two just need talk it out, does that make sense?"

"Y-Yeah," Ritsu said while rejecting such idea in her head.

"Well then I guess we're done here," Ichigo said but as she was standing up Ritsu stopped her.

"Wait! What happened earlier in the game by the way?" Ritsu asked suddenly remembering it.

"Well – "

"We won didn't we? Mika and the others won, right? Of course they did I mean they're champions after al – "

Ichigo stopped Ritsu in her words by handing her a piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"The score sheet of today's game."

"Oh~ let's see," Ritsu took the paper eagerly. "Now let's see how they di – " Ritsu's excitement suddenly turned into shock in an instant. She reread it so many times making sure she was reading it right. "Hey Ichigo, are you sure this is correct? Maybe you made a mistake."

"How rude. My knowledge in volleyball surpasses yours so that cannot happen."

"But have you seen these – "

"Yes since I'm the one who wrote them."

 _H-How can this be? 1_ _st_ _Set 25-23 (Sakura), 2_ _nd_ _Set 11-25 (SMA), 3_ _rd_ _Set 4-25 (SMA), 4_ _th_ _Set 18-25 (SMA)…The difference between these scores are too huge, especially in the 3_ _rd_ _set, what in the world happened? These aren't the scores of a reigning champion. It's fine if the scores are close like in the first set but the numbers after that are just insane._

"Like you, everyone wants to know what happened too," Ichigo said.

"B-But they're amazing…I saw them play…and Mika – Mika! The whole team should be able to play well with her in the court giving instructions. Did coach Koga take her out?"

"No. It's the complete opposite. It's because she kept giving the wrong instructions and stopped communicating with the others that coach Koga took her out from the game. And the proof that coach Koga made the right decision is the final score in the 4th set."

 _She's right. Their score did improve in the last set._ "…but it wasn't enough."

"Yes, they probably could've made it if weren't for their morale that dropped so drastically from losing with such embarrassing scores. Because of that they made a lot of errors. Sure Akane and Eri did their best too but without Mika they couldn't do it properly."

"What…? I just don't…I don't understand…this is so horrible," Ritsu said looking very worried about Mika and the others.

"It gets worse."

"What?! There's more?!"

"Yes. Coach Uehara Miyuki suddenly arrived earlier to observe the game."

"Coach Uehara?!...Who's that?"

"Please don't give misleading reactions," Ichigo said sounding a bit irritated.

"Sorry sorry."

"Uehara Miyuki, coach of the Tokyo University Women's Volleyball team, the undefeated champions in the Collegiate Volleyball Tournament for ten years."

"Un-Undefeated…? For te-ten years?"

"Because of that she was made coach of Japan's national team last year."

"Na-National team…," Ritsu took a few seconds to let such information sink in. "Coach Uehara was at the game earlier to observe?!"

"A little late for that kind of response. Anyway, yes she was there to observe. Rumor has it that the Sakura volleyball trio is on her list of players to recruit. Now that she showed up then I guess it's not a rumor anymore."

"When did she arrive?!"

"At the the start of the third set."

"Third set?!" Ritsu looked at the score sheet once again, "But that's their worse set!"

"I know."

"What the heck happened to them?! And for a national coach to see their worst…such a bad timing."

"I have no idea but there's one thing I've noticed though. Mika seemed distracted about something from the start of the second set."

"Distracted?"

"Yes. Plus add the pressure of reaching coach Uehara's expectations from them – it's no wonder they did poorly."

"Where's Mika now?"

"I don't know, probably still in the locker room. I didn't notice her come out of the gym."

Ritsu ran outside the room and hurriedly went to the gym. She didn't know exactly what caused Mika to play so badly but all she knows is she's worried about her and wants to see her. _I'm sure she's not doing alright…_ "Hmm…it looks like she already forgot," Ichigo said to herself after remembering what Ritsu said about Mio.

 **At the locker room**

Ritsu arrived at the gym and was standing outside the locker room. She's quite hesitant to go in – running to the gym without any plan on what to say, _I'm not even sure if I'll be able to help her or not._ _I know I'm able to do it with Yui and the others but Mika is different, I don't know what will make her happy or sad. Maybe this is a bad idea;_ Ritsu turned around and took a step away from the locker room door. _But…_ Ritsu turned back around and instantly reached for the knob, _whatever I'll worry about the bad things when they happen._ She gently opened the door and immediately saw Mika sitting on a bench with a towel over her head. _The game ended hours ago, has she been like this since then?_

She slowly approached her as if she was invading someone's territory. "Mi-Mika?" Ritsu called out in a low voice but there was no response. "Mika?" she tried again but still nothing. _Jeez! What am I doing?! Since when did I become so doubtful with the things I do? Alright! Here I go!_ She straightened her self and walked into the room. She then slumped down beside Mika finally getting her attention. "Ricchan…!" Mika said after being startled. As a prankster, Ritsu would've felt happy after seeing Mika's surprised expression if it weren't for those teary eyes she has.

"Ricchan…wha…what are you doing here?" Mika asked still a little stunned to see Ritsu, who she thought left hours ago, sitting beside her all of a sudden.

"Ichigo said that you're here so I went here," Ritsu said smiling at her.

"Why?"

"Well I…I heard from Ichigo what happened. I got worried and wanted to know how you're doing sooo…here I am."

"O-Oh…so you know," Mika said and looked back down.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there and cheered for you till the end, even though I said that I would."

"No it's fine," Mika looked at Ritsu and forced a smile. "At least you never got to see how awful I was earlier."

"Don't say that…"

"It's all my fault we lost…"

"Don't say that too."

"I failed as a captain, everyone put their trust in me that I would lead them to victory and I let them down. It was my fault that we lost so horribly…a 4-25 score is probably the most embarrassing score in the whole history of volleyball. Everything is my fau – OW!" a whack on the head stopped Mika from her words.

"Like I said, don't say that."

"But – "

"No buts! I may not know a lot about volleyball but I know that it's a team sport so don't shoulder everything."

"I'm the captain I'm responsible for them. I'm the one who should encourage them and – "

"That's coach Koga's job too, so stop blaming yourself too much."

"Bu – "

"Ah! I said no buts! Come on get changed," Ritsu said and stood up.

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"To get something sweet, my treat. They say if you're down eating desserts is the best way to cheer up. I could probably use some myself."

 _Does that mean she's down too? Or probably just hungry._ Mika smiled and said "Okay."

Ritsu then took her to a café near the station where their specialty is pancake. "Pancake?! Pancakes are my favorite!" Mika said as they stood outside the café. "Oh that's great! Then that means we're at the right place." They went inside and were taken to their seats. Ritsu was happy watching Mika excitingly browse the menu. _Thank goodness, it looks like she's feeling better_ , she said to herself and did not realize that she forgot her own issues as well. After a few minutes they gave out their order to the waiter.

"You sure took your time choosing," Ritsu said.

"I can't help it. Everything looks so good," said Mika feeling excited. "I didn't know there was a pancake café here."

"They just opened last week."

"I see," said Mika while she looked around.

While waiting for their order, a couple celebrating their anniversary came in and took the table near them. _"Say, remember when we were kids you used to be so scared of frogs?" "That's your fault! You used to pull pranks on me and I hate you for that." "But after 20 years you said 'yes' to me." "Oh stop it!"_

"Childhood friends, huh?" Ritsu suddenly spoke.

"What?"

"Those two, they're childhood friends."

"Oh, it seems that they are." Mika said while watching the couple.

"It's really nice if you're partner is your childhood friend. Yui and Nodoka are so lucky."

"You're right because they know everything about you, they understand you more than other people sometimes even more than your own family. They know your favorites, your likes and dislikes…what makes you happy and what makes you sad. I mean, who wouldn't want that right?" _I'm fine like this, it's my fault anyway for falling for her…_

"Exactly…," Ritsu's expression suddenly changed which Mika noticed.

 _Huh?_ "By the way Ricchan, Akane saw Mio-chan run out the gym earlier, did somethi – "

"Sorry…I don't want to talk about that."

"Ah! S-Sorry!"

"It's fine, look our orders are here."

"R-Right!" _So they had a fight huh? I wish I could do something to help._

Ritsu started to talk about something else and tried her best to avoid any topic that could lead to either of their issues – Mika did the same. And eventually finally forgot about those negative subjects. After eating, they both decided to just take a stroll at the park.

 **At the park**

"Ha~that was delicious!" Ritsu happily expressed as they walked.

"I know! Especially the one with dark chocolate chips," Mika said expressing her satisfaction as well.

"Let's go back again sometime."

"Eh?" _Did she mean…just the two of us?_ Mika blushed as she thought about it.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah! Oh nothing. I agree let's go again sometime."

"It's a Sunday and yet there aren't many people around in the park," Ritsu pointed out.

"Oh you're right. Is there some kind of event some…where…," Mika stopped talking when Ritsu also stopped walking and was just looking ahead with the same expression Mika saw when they were at the café. "Ricchan?...What's wrong?" Mika then turned her attention to where Ritsu was looking. _That's…Mio-chan with Mugi-chan…hmm? I've never seen them hold hands before._

The four of them were just a few feet away from each other and immediately there was tension between them. _Whoa! What's with this heavy atmosphere all of a sudden?_

"Ritsu…!"

"Mio…"

 _Huh? What was that? Did Mugi-chan just try to pull her hand away from Mio-chan?...and it seems Mio-chan didn't let her…but why? Wait what's going on?!_ Mika looked at Ritsu and saw that she was mad. _Her whole body's so tensed…this is the first time I've seen her mad. So this is what she looks like when she's angry, I'm not sure if I should be happy or worried._

"On a lovey-dovey date I see…," Ritsu spoke after a moment of awkward silence between them. " _Traitor_ …"

 _Lovey-dovey date? Then Mio-chan and Mugi-chan are…?! Wait! What did she mean by 'traitor'?!_

"Wait Ricchan it's my fault so – "

"Hell yeah it is!" Ritsu raised her voice at Mugi.

"Ritsu stop it!" Mio said and took a step in front of Mugi. "It's not Mugi's fault, okay? It's mine so please let me exp – "

"I don't need your explanation! You liars!"

 _This is bad I don't think I should be here…but it's too awkward to even leave now._

"Ritsu tone it down. Let's talk about this some place private."

 _Yes please! People are looking already…_

"What? Are you embarrassed of me now too?!"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Well that's clearly what's happening here!...All this time…that's why you lied to me!"

"Quit making assumptions and just listen to me for just one minute!"

"NO!" Ritsu said then grabbed Mika's hand. "Come on Mika!"

"Eh?!...O-Okay…," Mika said as she was being pulled away by Ritsu.

Ritsu just kept pulling Mika for minutes with no particular destination in mind. _As long as it's very far away from them!_ Eventually, they reached a convenience store and took a seat. Mika didn't speak; she just watched Ritsu breathe so furiously – wondering if it's from walking too much or still from being mad. _Just what the heck happened…?_

"I'm really sorry you had to see that…," Ritsu finally spoke after calming down a bit.

"I-It's fine…really," Mika forced a smile hoping to convince the drummer that it was really alright. _Ugh…I want to ask what happened…_

"I guess I should tell you what happened now…"

"HUH?! N-No it's fine! You don't have to force yourself."

"It's okay. After being put in an awkward position..."

"Wait! Let me get us some tea first."

"Thanks," Ritsu said with a smile.

After buying some tea, Ritsu started to tell her the story behind her anger towards Mio and Mugi. She spoke calmly this time unlike when she talked to Ichigo earlier. Mika listened intently and already had some thoughts about it but she let Ritsu finish first. And when she was done Mika finally spoke.

"Well, from what you said I think the only one who's right is…"

"Me?" Ritsu suddenly said.

"No…it's Ichigo."

"Eh?! How? But she's not even involved in our fight."

"She's right when she said that you guys just need to talk it out."

"Then how about the three of us?"

"Neither…"

"What?!"

"Mio-chan and Mugi-chan are wrong for lying to you…you're wrong too for not letting them explain why they lied."

"But…"

"I know it's emotionally painful but do you think Mio-chan didn't even put that into consideration when she was lying to you? You're best friends I'm sure it was hard for her to do that to you."

"I…"

"Besides are you really just going to throw you're years of friendship away because one lie without even giving it a chance to be solved?"

Ritsu didn't speak but she understood what Mika said.

"Well? Are you?" Mika asked again.

"No…but I…I don't want to see her…"

"Then don't."

"What? Then how am I – "

"Don't force yourself if you can't face her _yet._ Do that when you've calmed down and emotionally ready to listen to her. That way you can have a clear mind to fully understand the situation and where she's coming from."

"I see…you're right. That makes sense, I'll take your advice then."

"Just let her know that you don't want to talk yet, okay?"

"Right! I'll do that now," Ritsu said and then took out her phone.

"Oh don't forget to apologize for yelling at her earlier."

"Eh?!...*sigh* fine."

"Good," Mika said with a big smile feeling very happy that she was able to help her.

"And~…sent! Thanks Mika for the advice, I feel much better."

"It's no problem. You made me feel better too, remember?"

"Well there goes my childhood friend who should be _my_ partner in life."

"Y-Yeah…" _It's fine…I'm fine…I'm fine_

"Say Mika…," Ritsu started with a serious tone.

"What is it?"

"Is it okay if I asked what happened?"

"What happened with what?"

"With you…"

"Me?"

"Yeah…because I saw you play volleyball and you're, without a doubt, so amazing. _Best Setter_ for two years, _Captain of the Year,_ champions for 5 years…And then when I saw the score sheet Ichigo gave me…"

"Well I…," Mika started to get nervous – she couldn't think of anything to say for Ritsu to drop the topic.

"She said you were distracted by something. I was hoping you'd tell me what it is because maybe I could help…"

 _God why now?! Just when I forgot I about it…_

"Hey…Mika…?"

 _Calm down…calm down…_

"Mika?...Are you okay?"

 _Excuse…I need an excuse…I…I…_

"Mika – "

"…ight…"

"Huh?"

"Ichigo was right...I got distracted…," Mika said looking away.

"With what?"

"With the fact that you…you weren't there…"

"Huh?..."

"When I learned that Mio-chan went out the gym running earlier and then you were still not back when the third set started…I got worried…so I started looking for you in the crowd…while playing…"

Ritsu kept staring at her, she was confused and didn't know what to feel exactly. After a minute she managed to ask, "Why…would you worry that much…? Choosing to find me…instead of focusing in the game?"

Mika hesitated and then, "Because I... _I like you_!"

"…What?"

 _ **To be continued...**_

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed that :)**

 **Feel free to comment, review or whatever :P**

 **Stay tuned for chapter 5 :)**


	7. Chapter 5

**I don't own K-ON!**

 **Here's chapter 5 :) I'm finally able to update. Anyway I hope you enjoy.**

 **Again refer to Season 2: Ep.18 (3:31), Ep.25 (19:33) and the movie (15:30) to know who Saeki Mika, Satou Akane and Taki Eri are.**

* * *

"Ritsu! How long are you going to sleep? It's already 10:30, come down and eat your breakfast!"

Her mom called from downstairs that Monday morning. That was the fifth time Ritsu's mother called for her. She heard the wake up calls and was awake since the very beginning. In fact, Ritsu had zero sleep remembering Mika's confession.

 _"Because I…I like you!"_

 _"…What?..."_

 _"I like you! I really like you Ricchan!"_

 _"EH?! Huh? Uh…B-But I…I – "_

 _"Don't say any more. I know you only want to love Mio-chan so it's fine. I'm fine…I just wanted to let you know, that's all. So…now…please forget what I said!"_

 _"What? That doesn't make any sen – "_

 _"I'm sorry!"_

 _"Whoa! Mika wait!..."_

 _I couldn't possibly forget what she said_. _I wanted to talk to her more about it, well it's not like I'd know what to say if ever, but…*sigh*…then she just ran away…and boy can she run. Chasing after her was definitely a bad idea._ _And I thought musicians can match up to an athlete's stamina…_ "Ritsu!" her mom called again, but she lay on her bed and just turned to her side; ignoring her mother. She's not hungry anyway, _what should I do?_ She thought worriedly.

 **At Mika's room**

 _What should I do?_ Just like Ritsu, Mika spent all night thinking about it as well. _I want to know what she has to say but at the same time I'm too scared to hear it._ She didn't go to practice that morning due to everything had happened yesterday; their horrible defeat, the fight of Mio and Ritsu and lastly her confession – _it's even harder to focus now._

 _*Knock!* *Knock!*_ "Mika? It's us, can we come in?" a familiar voice called outside her room.

"Akane?...Come in."

"Hey…what's up?" Eri said as she came into the room with Akane.

"We came by because you're not at the gym and you're not answering our calls. We thought maybe you're sick," Akane explained.

"I'm fine guys. I'm sorry if I made you worry," Mika said.

"You don't look fine to me. I knew it! It's still about the game yesterday, isn't it?" Eri said. "I know! There's a new pancake café that just opened near the station why don't we go there now?"

"That's a good idea! You like pancakes, right Mika?" Akane excitedly said.

"I already went there yesterday with Ricchan. It was good," Mika said forcing a smile.

"EH?!" the two friends said in unison.

"So you guys had a date yesterday? What happened? Come on! Tell me the deta – " Eri was stopped when Akane gave her a nudge on the arm. "What? What is it?"

Akane didn't answer but just sat with Mika on the bed. And from that moment Eri noticed what Akane was trying to tell her. Mika was with Ritsu yesterday but her happiness and excitement were nowhere to be found. _Pancake + Ricchan should equal to a 'very happy Mika' but that's not what's happening here,_ Eri thought and sat on the bed as well. "What happened, Mika?" Eri asked and this time, she sounded concerned. After a bit of hesitation, Mika told them what happened. From the gym locker to the convenience store but she didn't give the details about the reason behind Ritsu and Mio's fight.

"And you just ran away?!" Eri said feeling a bit frustrated by what Mika did. "How could you just run away?! You should've listened to what she was going to say! I mean she even ran after you, didn't she?!"

"Eri yelling at her and telling her what she should've done is not helpful. We can't do anything about that now," Akane calmly said and faced Mika. "So what do you plan to do now, Mika?"

"I…I don't know…"

Akane put a hand on her friend's shoulder and said, "That's fine. You don't have to think about it so much right now. You said it yourself; you can talk to her when you're ready – when she's ready. That's why…"

"That why we should just play volleyball right now!" Eri continued. "That's nothing a few _sets_ of VB couldn't fix."

"She's right. Come on, we'll set and you spike. I'm sure you need you it," Akane said.

"But…what about the others? Are they mad about yesterday?" Mika asked still bothered by her poor performance.

"Nope. Actually, everyone's waiting for you. They want to let you know that it's okay," Akane said.

"Besides, it was just a practice match," Eri reminded.

"B-But coach Uehara – "

"Doesn't matter," Eri cut her off. "Don't think about her so much. Whatever she thinks about you and/or us won't change the fact you, _captain_ , lead us to victory for two years in a row. Every one in the team will never forget that, and this year will be our third win, I'm sure of it."

"So you don't have to worry about it, okay?" Akane comforted.

"Y-Yeah…you're right. Thanks you guys." And with that Mika was already convinced that sulking further in her bed wasn't going to help. "Let's play!"

"Alright! To the gym!" Eri shouted. "But let's stop at a ramen house first, it's almost lunch anyway."

"Jeez Eri! Fine wait for me downstairs, I'll just change."

And so, days have passed and it was already Thursday, the day before the game. Nothing has changed since then, Mika has been venting out all her worries in playing volleyball while Ritsu was still sulking in her bed. Both haven't stopped thinking about each other but none of them initiated the fist move to talk. And Ritsu has yet to resolve her issue with Mio.

 **At a supermarket**

As Ritsu thinks about Mika's confession to her, Mio is still waiting for her best friend's call or text saying that she's ready to talk. _Ah if only I told Ritsu sooner…how could I put her and Mugi in this kind of stressful situation?_ _I feel like Ritsu's going to make choose…no way she won't do tha – that's very highly possible!_

"Waahh! What should I do?!"

"Oh my…Mio-chan?"

Mio turned around and saw a familiar middle-aged lady behind her, "Auntie…? Long time no see!" Mio composed herself upon seeing Ritsu's mother.

"I can understand you're reaction Mio-chan."

"Huh?..."

"They've run out of packed eggs."

 _Packed…eggs?_ Mio looked beside her and saw an empty large basket. "O-Oh yeah…"

"Too bad huh? They were just 1 yen per pack."

"Y-Yeah…too bad…" _They had those?!_

"By the way Mio-chan…"

"What is it auntie?"

"It seems Ritsu has been down recently. She just stays in her room and just comes out if she's going to the bathroom or if it's time to eat. Are you guys, perhaps, fighting?"

"Eh?! Well…you could say that," Mio said and looked away.

"I knew it! Jeez you kids! You should learn to talk things over, if you're wrong apologize if not then learn to listen. Friends are very important you know? They're like you're siblings in this world that's why you need to appreciate them from time to time. Fights between friends are a no no, you understand? Simple arguments could turn into a big one, enough to destroy your friendship forever. That's why, you two need to fix your problem as soon as possible. 10 years worth of friendship will be wasted if you guys keep this up. No wonder Ritsu's been like that well Mio-chan I know you've been really patient with her all this time but whatever she did I'm sure she didn't reall – "

"Yes I understand auntie. I'll head over to your place and talk to her right now." _Man! I forgot auntie can be really noisy…just like Ritsu._

"Oh that's good Mio-chan!"

 **Ritsu's room**

Mio stood outside the door, feeling tired just from trying to turn the knob. _She didn't hear me go up the stairs so she's probably asleep_ , Mio assumed. _Wait if she's asleep then should I just come back tomorrow? No, since I'm here already I might as well…but she said that she's not ready to talk to me. But I want to talk now…what should I do? Whatever! I couldn't let this go any further._

And Mio opened the door, "Ritsu? Sorry for barging in but I need…to…talk…to…you…?" she was surprised that Ritsu was just sitting on her bed and awake.

"Oh…hey Mio…," Ritsu lethargically said.

 _WHA - ?! What's with that reaction?!_ "U-Um…I want to talk to you about the other day…"

"Oh right…we're fighting…"

 _She…she forgot?!_ "Um…did something happen? You know, other than our fight…"

"I don't know what to do Mio! Help me!" Ritsu said and suddenly bawled.

 _What the heck?! It's like the last day of summer vacation and her homework isn't done yet…only…different._ "I get it so stop crying like a child and tell me what on earth happened."

Ritsu felt a little embarrassed at first but she went on and told her about Mika. How she doesn't know what to do with the confession and how she should respond to it – it's a big first for her after all. And while Ritsu was talking, Mio couldn't help but smile and feel happy. _Because it seems everything's fine between us now…and she looks happy_.

"Just be honest it's that simple," Mio said after Ritsu told the story. "Tell me…what do you think of Mika?"

"Eh?...Well…Mika is…Mika is…a bit odd sometimes…"

"Really? That's what you're going to say about her?"

"But she looks after people, I mean that's why she's the captain. Her ability to make composed yet daring split second decisions in the court is really impressive. Not only that, she's really mature too when it comes to serious matters." Ritsu stopped for a while and hugged her knees tighter. "Honestly…I have no idea how I'm supposed to answer her feelings but…being with her is always a lot of fun. It's like I forget everything else when I'm with her."

"Then there's your answer," Mio said.

"What?! How is that an answer?! I don't get it."

"Well just think about it some more, there's no _rush_."

"By the way…"

"What is it Ritsu?"

"You said you wanted to talk about our fight…"

"Huh? Ah…yeah…"

Awkward silence filled the room for a few seconds before they both suddenly spoke what's on their mind. "I'm sorry!"

"No _I'm_ sorry. I lied to you about Mugi…"

"But I should've listened to your reason why you lied _I'm_ sorry…"

And once again, there was awkward silence between them before they burst into laughter.

"But seriously, I'm really sorry Ritsu."

"Yeah me too…"

"So are we good?" Mio asked.

"Hmmm not really…"

"What?! I thought – "

"You have to answer all of my questions first," Ritsu said and smiled mischievously. "One! How did Mugi confess?"

"Eh?!...Well…she didn't…i-it was me," Mio answered and blushed heavily.

"What?! You're the one who confessed?! You?...the shy and scaredy-cat Akiyama Mio confessed? Wow I can't imagine that happening very smoothly."

"Shut up! I did my best!"

"So…since when?"

"We started dating last spring…"

"That long, huh?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was really planning to tell you when I'm ready I thought you'd get mad if I told you about it."

"Why would I be? I'm your best friend…if she makes you happy then its fine."

"By the way Ritsu, Mugi told me about that talk you guys had at Max Burger after the party at Yui's."

"Eh?!" Ritsu then turned red. "She did?…well that's so embarrassing."

Mio gave a chuckle and said, "No wonder she was so worried that day…and no wonder you keep teasing me every chance you get back then."

"Yeah yeah could we talk about something else now?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you what you're looking for," Mio said in a serious tone.

"Nah! It's fine don't worry about it."

"But you know, you don't have to look too far."

Ritsu knew what her best friend meant and just looked away.

"Like I said there's no _rush_ so take your time," Mio stood up from the bed and stretched her arms. "That's the best advice I could give you."

"What kind of advice is that? I don't get it."

"Oh yeah! Ichigo said the game starts at 10am tomorrow," Mio reminded.

"Game?"

"Mika's game," Mio smiled happily. "Mugi and I will watch tomorrow and I think everyone

else is coming too."

And Mio left afterwards. She didn't ask anymore if Ritsu's coming or not because she knew her best friend is still going think about it. _But I have a feeling she'll come tomorrow._

 ** _To be continued..._**

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed that :)**

 **Feel free to comment, review or whatever :P**

 **Next up is the Final chapter :)**


	8. Chapter FINAL

**I don't own K-ON!**

 **Here it is the final chapter :)**

 **Again refer to Season 2: Ep.18 (3:31), Ep.25 (19:33) and the movie (15:30) to know who Saeki Mika, Satou Akane and Taki Eri are.**

 **As for Wajima Maki, refer to Season 2 Ep.25 (19:33).**

 **For Wakaouji Ichigo refer to, Season 2: Ep.10 (11:53, 13:05), Ep.17 (5:31, 6:43), Ep.18 (3:28), Ep.22 (13:38), Ep.25 (19:12) and the movie (1:23:34, 1:28:55).**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

 **At the Sakura gym**

The day of the match came and the crowd tripled in number since the last game. The Sakura supporters were even more dedicated despite the horrible loss of the team at the practice game. Mio and Mugi arrived with their friends, as planned, to watch the game and were standing by the entrance – except for Ritsu.

"Wow! There's so many people, it's like there's going to be a concert," Yui said feeling excited as well.

"I never expected this many people would come today, it's just crazy," Mio said.

"Students of Sakura high are very active when it comes to these kind of events. You should attend the championships it gets even crazier," Nodoka explained.

"Oh…I see."

"Oh and I also told the Mio fanclub members that you'll be watching today."

"What?! Why?!" Mio said in distress.

"Well I'll feel bad if didn't let them know, since I'm the president of the club too," Nodoka said.

"Ui-chan, Azusa-chan are you guys okay?" Mugi checked on her juniors. "Try not to get lost okay?"

"Jeez, senpai we're not kids anymore. That's not something to worry about," Azusa answered while subtly holding Ui's hand.

 _She's definitely worried about getting lost,_ Ui thought and chuckled.

"Wh-What?" Azusa asked.

"Oh nothing."

"I just don't want you getting lost."

"If you say so Azusa-chan."

"What now Mio-chan? It's kind of hard to watch like this," Yui asked.

"And I don't think we could stay at the court side," Azusa added

"You're right. Hold on let me think," Mio said.

"You guys seem troubled," someone said from behind them.

"Ichigo." Nodoka said as they turned around.

"Ichigo, could it be you're the play by play announcer again?" Mio asked.

"Yes. Where's Ritsu?"

"She…uh…got some stuff to take care of," Mio said.

"Hmm…well whatever. Come on," Ichigo said.

"Huh? Where to?" asked Mio.

"I thought you guys want to a better view."

"You don't mean…"

"As long as you keep score till the very end and don't disappear all of a sudden like last time."

"S-Sorry about that…I'll definitely do my job right this time. Thanks Ichigo!"

A few minutes left before the game starts and the whole gang's already settled down at the courtside. Ritsu is still nowhere to be found.

 **At the Sakura bench**

Mika looked at the announcer's table and all of Ritsu's friends are there except for Ritsu.

"You okay cap?" Eri asked.

"Ricchan's probably running late," Akane said.

"I'm fine guys, thanks. The game's more important right now," Mika reassured.

"Looks like Uehara's back to watch the game again," Eri said and looked at the second floor of the gym.

"What? Again?" Akane said sounding a bit distressed.

"Don't mind her, we play to win not to impress her. Now, come on," Mika said.

"Oh nice words cap!"

All is set, and they're just waiting for Ichigo to announce the start of the game. Despite what Mika said, deep inside she still wished that Ritsu was there. _No! Focus…I need to focus this time_ , she knew it's going to be harder than usual but she's going to give it all she's got. _I'm the captain, I won't let my teammates down again._

 _{It's now time to start the game between Sakuragaoka High and South Midori Academy. I'm Wakaouji Ichigo and I'll be the play-by-play announcer for this match…again.}_

 **At Ritsu's room**

 _The game's probably started_ , Ritsu said to herself as glanced at the clock. Once again she spent all night thinking if whether she's going to watch the game or not. She thought of just going and not show herself to Mika but immediately decided against it, _I don't want that…that's no fun. I want to watch the game from the courtside like last time._

 _"Just be honest…and just take your time…"_

Ritsu suddenly remembered Mio's words. _Yeah I know, but I don't know what exactly I want to say._ She glanced at the clock once again, _11:25…I wonder if the game's over. Maybe it is…*sigh* I even said that I'd cheer for her and yet here I am…sulking endlessly in my bed. I wonder how they di –_

 _"…Mika seemed distracted about something from the start of the second set…"_

Ritsu recalled her talk with Ichigo that day and what Mika said to her at the convenience store automatically followed it.

 _"…Ichigo was right...I got distracted…you weren't there…I started looking for you in the crowd…while playing…Because I like you!"_

 _No! I could still make it. I'll just worry about what I'll say later. Right now, I have to go to the gym and cheer for her!_

 **At the Sakura gym**

Ritsu arrived 15 minutes after she left her house and stood at the gym entrance – out of breath. _11:45…Did I make it?!_

 _{And that's the end of the 4_ _th_ _set…}_

 _It's over?!_ Ritsu thought after hearing what Ichigo said.

 _{Sakura High and SMA are now tied with two sets each. The 5_ _th_ _set will start in a few moments.}_

With a big smile on her face, Ritsu then went to the Sakura bench and called for Mika.

"Ri-Ricchan…?"

"Um…" _Why did I come here all of a sudden?!_ "…uh…sorry I'm late. Good luck…I guess it's _too_ late to say that now."

"It's fine, thank you." Mika said and felt a sense of relief that Ritsu's finally there.

"Mika have your lovey-dovey moment after the game! Come on!" coach Koga yelled from the bench.

"S-Sorry I have to go…"

"Y-Yeah, sorry for keeping you. I'll be cheering for you…till the end this time."

Mika smiled at her and said, "Yeah you better! Mio-chan and the others are with Ichigo."

"Thanks."

Feeling satisfied with what she did Ritsu now went to her friends at the announcer's table.

"Ricchan!" Yui immediately greeted.

"About time you got here," Mio said.

"Sorry I'm late you guys."

"So you waited until it's the last set of the game? You're so cliché," Ichigo commented.

Ritsu then saw Mugi sitting beside Mio looking a bit anxious. She smiled at her and said, "Enjoying the game so far Mugi?"

Sensing Ritsu's friendliness Mugi responded happily, "Yes!"

"Thank goodness you guys are fine already," Azusa said.

"Eh? You knew about our fight?"

"We all did," Nodoka clarified.

"Yeah she told onee-chan and my sister told everyone else," Ui explained.

"Well I can't help it. I got worried."

"Sorry about that guys."

"Jeez Ricchan, I can't believe you didn't notice with Mio and Mugi always together. I did, it's not that hard you know?" Yui lied.

"Wow! Then that means you know about Ui and Azusa's relationship too?"

"Eh?! What?!" Yui then turned to her sister and Azusa. "H-How could you hide this from me, Ui?!"

"Now now Yui, don't start another drama," Nodoka said.

"More importantly let me see the score sheet," Ritsu suddenly took the paper from Mio. _1_ _st_ _Set 25-23 (Sakura), 2_ _nd_ _Set 20-25 (SMA), 3_ _rd_ _Set 26-28 (SMA), 4_ _th_ _Set 25-23 (Sakura)._ "Two sets each huh?"

"Yes and the last set is race to 15," Ichigo explained.

"The game's been very suspenseful since the beginning. And now only one set left I feel very nervous," Mugi said.

"HA! What are you saying Mugi? Sakura's going to win the last one," Ritsu said confidently.

"How do you know?"

"Because Mika's there," Ritsu said then put a foot on the table. "GO FOR IT SAKURA!" she shouted and got everyone in the gym cheering louder than before.

And immediately Yui and Mugi stood up from their seats and joined their president in cheering for Sakura High.

"Please refrain from stepping on the table," Ichigo nonchalantly said.

 _{It's now time to start the 5_ _th_ _and final set.}_

 _{It's Sakura's ball to serve. There's the whistle…and~ sharp serve from Wajima…}_

 _{Received by Andou of SMA…set by Aki and spiked by Kageyama Satsuki from the left wing…}_

 _{Saved by Eri…Mika immediately moved to set it up and~ Akane spiked it through her two blockers killing the ball and almost hitting Kageyama on the face in the process. One point for Sakura}_

"YEAH! IN YOUR UGLY FACE!" Ritsu shouted.

"Ritsu! That's rude!" Mio said and hit her on the head.

"She's right. Please avoid distracting the opposing team with painful truths," Ichigo emotionlessly said.

"What?! That's not what I meant Ichigo!"

"Oh sorry…," Ritsu said to Ichigo.

"You're being sorry for the wrong thing!" Mio said and hit Ritsu again.

"Senpai can't you say something encouraging to them like ' _Do your best'_ or something instead of sounding indifferent all the time?" Azusa said.

"What are you saying? I find it stupid to say things like _'Do your best'_ to the people who are already doing their best," Ichigo answered and left Azusa speechless.

"Oh~ good point!" Mugi said and took note of it.

"Mugi-senpai too?"

So the game went on and Sakura continued to score one after another at the start of the 5th set. And coach Utagawa already used up all her time outs by the time Sakura High reached the 8th point.

"Huh? What's going on? I thought it's a technical time-out when a team reached 8 points. Why are leaving the court?" Ritsu asked.

"There is no technical time-outs in the 5th set. Teams just change court at the 8th point," Ui explained.

"Oh~ I didn't know Ui-chan's knowledgeable in volleyball too," Ritsu praised.

"Yes. I'm very thankful for her presence all this time. She's been helping me explain everything to Yui and the rest," Ichigo said.

It's now 8 – 4 with Sakura High on the lead. After changing courts the rallies suddenly became longer and every one in the gym can feel the game intensifying. The players are all exhausted from playing too long but no one is giving up and South Midori Academy finally caught up with Sakura at 10 – 10. Both teams are not letting their opponent have the two-point lead. More than 5 minutes have passed and the score is already at 25 – 24 in favor of Sakura High. The fans are all drained from shouting and the players are almost at their limit. It's SMA's ball to serve, _we can't let them score anymore…my team is already moving too slow due to exhaustion. SMA looks pretty much the same, Eri and Akane can still keep going for 2 minutes more but I'm not so sure with the others. We need to finish this now…we need an attack that's fast with less effort…come on think!_ Mika felt the pressure as the captain of her team as she waited for the whistle.

"Mika! You can do it!" Ritsu suddenly shouted.

 _That's it! Right! I'll do it!_ Mika got the idea she needed from Ritsu. "This is last one team! Last stretch you guys give it all you got!" Mika confidently told her teammates.

"ROGER!" the five responded mightily believing in the words of their captain. Mika then gave the necessary signals to Eri and Akane for her plan.

"Where are they getting their energy from?" Mio asked feeling amazed as she watched the players still standing despite already gasping for air.

 _{There's the whistle and the serve from Kageyama…}_

 _{Eri dug hard and saved the ball…passed it to Mika and Akane jumped from the left wing but Mika tipped the ball to the other side and surprised SMA with such effortless kill. Sakura High wins the game with 26 – 24}_

Sakura High rejoiced and everyone jumped for joy, while the South Midori Academy players were still a bit flabbergasted with Sakura's last attack. They didn't expect that such simple trick would work. Mika took advantage of the opponent's exhaustion and got them more stressed with her sudden pep talk with her teammates, making them expect something very big. They felt a little stupid for falling for an old trick but they accepted their loss.

"WOOHOO! We won! Ichigo did you see that?! Did you see that?! Mika did it! Did you see?!" Ritsu shoved the pigtailed announcer.

"Yes I saw that now stop shoving me and shouting in my ear."

 _Right! Now that's over there's still one thing left to do._ Ritsu didn't forget the second thing she needs to do after watching the game. So an hour later, Ritsu stood outside the gym and waited for Mika to come out. She still needs to talk to her after all; despite not having a clear plan on the words she will say yet she continued to wait. And after a few minutes Mika came out.

"Hey…Mika?" Ritsu called.

"Oh Ricchan…"

"Um…congrats on that win. That was pretty amazing…what you did."

"I-It's not that amazing really. I noticed you, Mio-chan and Mugi-chan were really enjoying together; you guys made up?"

"Oh yeah yeah just yesterday…"

"That's great…"

"Uh…Mika…about the other day…"

"Y-Yes?" Mika felt nervous and planned on running away again but she's too tired. _Well I guess I'll just face everything now and get this over with._

"The truth is I'm really happy that you feel that way towards me...truly I am but…"

 _Ah she said 'but' of course she'll say 'but'. I should've expected this…_ Mika tried her best to hold back her tears.

Ritsu then continued, "…but…I…I don't think I could reciprocate your feelings _right now…_ "

"Don't worry about that Ricchan it's not like I'm really expec – wait…did you say _right now_?"

"Yeah," Ritsu answered casually.

"I don't get it…"

"To put it simply…is it alright…you know…if we could take it slow?"

Mika didn't respond and just stared at Ritsu but she was clearly surprised.

"You see after thinking about it for days I realized you're really amazing and you showed me that in just two days which is amazing too. And every time I'm with you I forget about everything else because it's always so much fun and I…I want to be with you more…" Ritsu stopped and looked at Mika just staring at her. "Sorry…I probably don't make any sense."

"I sort of understand…sorry," Mika blushed and looked down too shy to look at Ritsu.

"Oh okay…then…" _Crap! What am I doing? This is so awkward I should've really planned this beforehand._

"But what about what you said before?" Mika asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know when we were at the pancake café with how childhood friends are very good partners because they know you better than anyone…they understand you better than anyone…you know…just like Mio-chan…"

"Hmmm well that's true since they've known you for years and all…the only advantage they have is they started learning about each other early."

"Huh?"

"What I mean is…if it's learning about each other then it's never too late for us to start, right?" Ritsu said and smiled at her.

"Then…that's what you mean about _'not right now and take it slow'_ "

"Yes yes! Sorry for messing everything up."

"It's fine I understand," Mika still feels a bit awkward but in a good way – she was happy.

"Then…is it…you know…okay with you in taking things slow." Ritsu asked once again.

Mika smiled at the drummer and then put up her hand, "Then let's do this right. Saeki Mika, setter and captain of the Sakura High Volleyball Club. Undefeated champions for 5-years."

Ritsu then understood what Mika was trying to do so she took her hand and shook it, "Tainaka Ritsu, president and founder of the light music club. Drummer of the ever popular Houkago Tea Time."

"Oh good one!" Mika complimented.

"Of course."

"Right! Now that you guys are now _"friends"_ let's go get something to eat." Mio suddenly said as she came out from behind the tree with the rest of their friends.

"Yeah I'm hungry!" Eri agreed while coming out from behind another tree with Akane.

"We're you guys hiding there all this time?" Mika asked surprised at the sudden appearance of her friends

"Yes. Now come on! I want some ramen!" Eri demanded.

"Oh I want some ramen too!" Yui said.

Ritsu and Mika looked at each other and finally joined their friends in discussing where to eat. And as they talked, Mio noticed that both Ritsu and Mika didn't let go of each other hands – so she held Mugi's hand too. _I'm really happy for my best friend,_ Mio then got a text from Ritsu. _"Thanks for the advice. I finally understood what you meant, you're the best."_ _That Ritsu, she's really slow._

 ** _The End._**

* * *

 **And that concludes Ritsu's story. I hope you enjoyed it :)**

 **Feel free to comment, review or whatever :P**

 **Thank you for sticking till end I really appreciate it :)**

 **And as promised, chapter one of the sequel of Yui and Nodoka's love story is finished and is already published. So I hope you check it out after this, "Growing old with you: Against All Odds" ;)**


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